Bank explosion in Youngstown, Ohio: 1 person found dead

Several people were injured when a natural gas explosion damaged a building in downtown Youngstown, Ohio, on Tuesday, fire officials said. One person is dead and several others were hospitalized.

“This is something we never planned for and never thought would happen,” Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said at a press conference today.

The body of one of the employees, Akil Drake, 27, was pulled from the rubble and recovered late Tuesday night, according to a news release from the Mahoning County Coroner’s Office emailed to USA TODAY.

Seven other people were hospitalized, fire officials said.

Press conference on Wednesday morning

The Youngstown mayor, police chief and fire chief held a press conference Wednesday to further discuss the incident.

The mayor said the state fire marshal is currently on the scene. He and other city officials declined to comment on whether the explosion was caused by negligence until they have more information.

“We are not speculating,” Brown said, adding that fire officials would need to investigate the incident further.

The state fire marshal is currently leading the investigation, said Fire Chief Barry Finley.

Finley added that no resident would be allowed into the building until they were satisfied that the building was structurally sound.

What happened?

Shortly after 3 p.m., an explosion occurred at the Chase Bank branch, which is located on the ground floor of a 13-story building that also contains numerous apartments, local media WFMJ and WKBN reported.

The fire department asked residents to avoid the city center.

Explosion captured on surveillance video

The entire ground floor of the building that exploded appears to be destroyed, WFMJ reported. A video from a neighboring business’s surveillance camera, obtained by the television station, shows the explosion in real time.

In the middle of the 5-second clip, an explosion occurs, sending debris into the air and covering the area with smoke.

Related Posts

Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt, Francis Ford Coppola, Arturo Sandoval on the 2024 Kennedy Center Honors list

Women testify that a McLennan County man sexually abused them in homes in China Spring, West

Man killed in house fire at Bensalem trailer park Friday – NBC10 Philadelphia