House explosion in Elizabeth, New Jersey, causes injuries

A preliminary investigation found no indication the blast was gas-related, an Elizabethtown Gas spokesman told NBC4.

No names or ages of any of the victims have been released.

In Elizabeth, neighbors said the explosion caught them by surprise. The extent of their injuries is not immediately known.

One person is dead and 12 more were injured when a house exploded Wednesday in New Jersey.

The explosion occurred in a two-family duplex on Magnolia Avenue around 8 a.m.

An explosion in northern New Jersey that levelled a duplex “like a pancake” Wednesday and knocked a next-door neighbour out of bed killed one resident and left two other people in critical condition with severe burns, officials said.

But the mayor of Elizabeth said that several people had reported smelling gas near the new-construction structure before the explosion. ABC 7 reports the homes were all recently constructed.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Mayor Chris Bollwage said three people had been flown to local hospitals for treatment.

“I was woken up, knocked out of bed”, an emotional Wayne Shephard, who lives with his wife and son next to the home that exploded, told WNBC.

Gas and electrical crews were on the scene late this morning securing downed power lines and examining gas lines on the block. The majority of the damage is in the back of the home. But there is no sign of fire.