4th Body Found After Maryland Apartment Explosion

The body of a fourth victim has been recovered from the burned remnants of an apartment building after an explosion at the complex on Arliss Street on Wednesday, authorities said Sunday. Police have identified all eight victims missing after the explosion but have not positively identified the four victims whose remains have been transported to the Officer of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore.

Montgomery County police are working alongside federal agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to sift through the site in Silver Spring for clues to the cause of the August 10 blast, they said.

Officials said Sunday that eight people remain unaccounted for, including two children.

The extent of the damage the building suffered has slowed the recovery process, officials say. “It’s too risky”, Dave Steckel, the county’s acting fire chief, told reporters Sunday.

“We would like to do this more quickly”.

Police said the fourth victim was found on Saturday..

Washington Gas, a unit of WGL Holdings Inc, which provided service to the complex, has said it was helping in the investigation.

Early on Thursday morning, fire crews were called to the 8600 block of Piney Branch Road at the Flower Branch Apartments for reports of an explosion and fire shortly before midnight.

The missing have been identified as Saeda Ibrahim, 41; Augusto Jimenez Sr., age 62; Maria Auxiliadorai Castellon-Martinez, age 53; Aseged Mekonen, age 34; Deibi “David” Samir Lainez Morales, age 8; Oscar Armando Ochoa, age 55 – NOTE: No photo available; Fernando Josue Hernandez Orellana, age 3; and Saul Paniagua, age 65. While they have indication he may have been in the building at the time of the fire, no family members have come forward to say he is missing.

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