New Jersey Gas Explosion Update: 1 Dead, 7 Injured

By: By Jess Baker

Published: March 4,2014

One person is dead and seven more injured after a gas line exploded in Ewing Township, N.J. Tuesday.
At least one home was destroyed and several others damaged. Police said the person who died was found outside a home, but they had not yet confirmed if the victim lived there, according to The Associated Press.
"As you can understand it's a pretty horrific scene down there," Ewing Township Lt. Ronald Lunetta said during an afternoon news conference.

AP Photo/Mel Evans

A police officer walks near the debris in Ewing, N.J. Tuesday.

Lunetta said five of the injured are PSE&G workers; two more are public service workers. According to The Associated Press, PSE&G utility got a call shortly before noon that a contractor had damaged a gas line, spokeswoman Lindsey Puliti said. Utility crews were repairing it about an hour later when the gas line ignited.
Video from Philadelphia's NBC 10 (above) shows thick black smoke pouring from the fire. The station reports the explosion was so violent, people nearby thought a plane had crashed.

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Debris was scattered on lawns and in trees hundreds of feet away from the site of the fire, and no one was allowed back in the development, according to nj.com.
A resident of the complex, Bryan Gentry, drove home minutes after he heard an explosion and as he got closer, saw a black smoke cloud. The fire was intensely hot, he said, and he saw one person walking away from the fire who appeared to be stunned.
"It was just unreal," he said, adding that emergency crews responded "really fast."
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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