John Jefferson
Thirteen people were treated at the hospital following a house collapse in Syracuse, New York, on Tuesday, and investigators are working to determine if a gas explosion was the cause.
More than 50 firefighters responded to multiple 911 calls of what sounded like an explosion at a two-story house at around 4 p.m., Syracuse Fire Chief Michael Monds told reporters at the scene.
Most of the victims were found in the front yard of the home at 205 Carbon Street when first responders arrived, but at least one youth had to be pulled out of a car buried in rubble, the Associated Press reported.
Of the 13 taken to the hospital, at least 11 of them were admitted for “further treatment,” a statement from the Syracuse Fire Department to Fox News Digital said. The victims range in age from eight months to 42 years old.
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Along with the residents who were renting the property, visiting family members were also hurt in the collapse. The fire department provided a list of those hurt that includes two fathers, two mothers and nine children. Three of the children remain in critically stable condition, the department said.
Monds said police and fire officials will be investigating what caused the collapse of the home, which dates back to 1920. He noted that responding firefighters also encountered downed power lines and a heavy odor of natural gas at the scene.
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Search and rescue crews spent hours at the scene making sure no one else was trapped underneath the rubble.
Mayor Ben Walsh told local TV station WSYR that the house did not have any open code violations, and that investigators were interviewing the landlord.
The home will be demolished after the investigation is complete and the gas line to the home has been cut off by National Grid, Walsh said, according to CBS News.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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