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An explosion in Youngstown, Ohio, blew out the facade of a downtown bank building Tuesday afternoon, injuring seven people and killing one man. A 27-year-old man was killed in the explosion, according to a news release from Youngstown police. That man was identified as Akil Drake, a Penn Hills High School graduate who worked at Chase Bank, where the explosion occurred. “Akil graduated from Penn Hills in 2015 and was a student-athlete who excelled on the football field. The Penn Hills School District extends its deepest condolences to Akil’s family, as well as the others affected by this tragic explosion. Akil will be missed by all of us,” a statement on behalf of the Penn Hills School District said. All other people connected to this incident have been identified, according to police. Authorities say a woman was presumed missing, but she was later found at a hospital under a different name, according to ABC affiliate WYTV. The front of the Realty building on East Federal Street was heavily damaged. Images from the scene show the facade of the building was completely destroyed. The building houses a Chase bank. Officials said no one is allowed to enter the Realty building or the neighboring Double Tree hotel. However, people can return to the nearby International Towers. Officials were concerned about the structural integrity of the building, so no firefighters were deployed as of 6:30 p.m. An Enbridge Gas representative, Stephanie Moore, said the cause of the explosion was unknown Tuesday evening and the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s office will investigate the incident. She said the company was notified of the incident shortly before 3 p.m. “Public safety is our top priority. We are on site and working closely with local emergency responders to cordon off the area. As a safety precaution, we have shut off gas to the entire block,” Moore said in a statement. A spokesperson for Mercy Health-Youngstown said seven people were injured in the explosion and one person is in critical condition. Finely said one of the injured people is on a ventilator. Enbridge Gas expressed condolences to the victims of the explosion. Authorities are urging people to avoid the area until further notice. Youngstown police are also asking residents to keep communication lines open for emergency cases. A JPMorgan Chase spokesperson said, “Right now, we are in close contact with local authorities to verify the safety of everyone in the building and surrounding area. After that, we will work to determine what happened and assess the damage.” Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown said he and his team were aware of the explosion. Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 is on the scene for more. This is a developing story. Stay with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 for updates. Download the WTAE app to stay up to date with breaking news.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio —

An explosion in Youngstown, Ohio, blew up the facade of a downtown bank building on Tuesday afternoon. Seven people were injured and one man died.

According to a Youngstown Police press release, a 27-year-old man was killed in the explosion. The man was identified as Akil Drake, a Penn Hills High School graduate who worked at Chase Bank, where the explosion occurred.

“Akil graduated from Penn Hills in 2015 and was a student-athlete who excelled on the football field. The Penn Hills School District extends its deepest condolences to Akil’s family and to others affected by this tragic explosion. Akil will be missed by all of us,” said a statement on behalf of the Penn Hills School District.

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All other people connected to the incident have been identified, according to police. Authorities said one woman was presumed missing but was later found at a hospital under a different name, ABC affiliate WYTV reported.

The front of the Realty building on East Federal Street was heavily damaged. Images from the scene show that the facade of the building was completely destroyed. The building houses a Chase bank.

Officials said no one would be allowed to enter the Realty building or the neighboring Double Tree hotel, but they could return to the nearby International Towers.

Officials were concerned about the structural integrity of the building, so firefighters were no longer deployed as of 6:30 p.m.

Stephanie Moore, a representative for Enbridge Gas, said the cause of the explosion was still unknown Tuesday evening and the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s office would investigate the incident. She said the company was notified of the incident shortly before 3 p.m.

“Public safety is our top priority. We are on site and working closely with local emergency responders to seal off the area. As a safety precaution, we have shut off gas to the entire block,” Moore said in a statement.

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A Mercy Health-Youngstown spokesman said seven people were injured in the explosion, one of whom was in critical condition. Finely said one of the injured people is on a ventilator.

Enbridge Gas expressed its condolences to the victims of the explosion.

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Authorities are asking residents to avoid the area until further notice. Youngstown police are also asking residents to keep communication lines open in case of emergency.

A JPMorgan Chase spokesperson said: “We are currently in close contact with local authorities to verify the safety of everyone in the building and surrounding area. After that, we will work to determine what happened and assess the damage.”

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown said he and his team were aware of the explosion.

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Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 is on the scene to find out more.

This is a developing story. Stay with Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 for updates. Download the WTAE app to stay up to date with the latest news.

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