Photo: Brett Carlsen / Getty Images
At least one person died and a 3-year-old girl remains missing on Tuesday, after an explosion and fire overnight destroyed three homes in Flint, Michigan , damaged several more and left a neighborhood in rubble, authorities said.
Flint Fire Chief Raymond Barton said Tuesday that two people were immediately taken to area hospitals, where one of them, a man from 70 years, he was declared dead, while the father of the missing girl was in critical condition.
Another person reported minor injuries after the blast, which destroyed three homes in the neighborhood on the west side of Flint, WJRT-TV reported.
Barton said ap Michigan State Police error and fire crews with specialized equipment were searching for the 3-year-old girl.
“This is a tragic time for our community,” said Mayor Sheldon Neeley, during a press conference Tuesday morning.
Three houses on the block 3900 of Hogarth Avenue were completely engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at the scene after 9: 30 pm Monday.
Authorities said about 20 Homes sustained damage , including windows shattered by debris thrown across a block from the blast, felt miles away.
The cause of the explosion, which left the neighborhood littered with splintered wood and other debris, was under investigation, d Ijo Neeley.
Aisha Lott, who lives nearby, said she felt an explosion and the explosion shook her house.
“It was like a very strong boom and my house shook,” he told WJRT-TV.
Consumers Energy spokesperson , Brian Wheeler, said the utility company got a call around 9: 40 pm
On Monday about the explosion of the house and the crews sent to the place cut the service of natural gas and electricity to a total of seven houses, including three that he claimed were destroyed by the blast.
Wheeler said Tuesday morning that the utility company had found no evidence of gas leaks or other problems with the Consumers Energy gas system reaching the exploded home.
He said that the company she is working with local authorities to investigate the explosion. “Our thoughts this morning go out to the residents of this neighborhood and their loved ones,” the utility company said in a statement.
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