By — Don Babwin, Associated Press Don Babwin, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/8-injured-rushed-to-hospital-in-chicago-apartment-building-explosion Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter 8 injured, rushed to hospital in Chicago apartment building explosion Nation Sep 20, 2022 2:22 PM EDT CHICAGO (AP) — Eight people were rushed to hospitals after being injured when an explosion Tuesday tore through the top floor of a Chicago apartment building, officials said. The explosion at the 36-unit, four-story apartment building in the South Austin neighborhood occurred at about 9 a.m., officials said. Chicago Fire Department Deputy Chief Marc Ferman told reporters a few hours later that the department had finished searching for potential victims and was “confident” that nobody remained trapped inside the building, of which much of the top floor had collapsed. READ MORE: Shooting at 4th of July parade in Chicago suburb Highland Park leaves 6 dead, two dozen hospitalized He said technical crews had shored up the upper floors to allow firefighters to search “to make sure we didn’t leave any victims underneath any of the debris.” A cause of the blast had not yet been determined. Seven of the injured were in the building on the city’s West Side when the explosion occurred and one apparently was in a building across the street, Ferman said. Three of the people who were hurt had serious to critical injuries, the department said. WATCH: Rapper Common, Rev. Moss on helping Chicago heal and the ‘plot’ against Black America Photographs and video posted on the Chicago Fire Department’s Twitter page showed that much of the top floor was destroyed. Scores of bricks and other debris had fallen onto the street, crushing at least one car and seriously damaging two others. Several residents said they were home when the explosion rocked the building. “I was asleep, and all of a sudden there was a loud booming,” Lawrence Lewis, who was asleep at the time, told WGN television. “I woke up to my windows gone, my front door blown open. I just saw smoke, and I ran out of the house. I was asleep. I’m shook up right now.” Otis Maning, who lives across the street, told the Chicago Sun-Times that he was on his couch watching television when “all of a sudden I hear, `Boom!’” “My heart almost shot out of my body. … I saw windows busted open, I saw debris,” he added. Chicago police bomb squad and agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the explosion. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Don Babwin, Associated Press Don Babwin, Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — Eight people were rushed to hospitals after being injured when an explosion Tuesday tore through the top floor of a Chicago apartment building, officials said. The explosion at the 36-unit, four-story apartment building in the South Austin neighborhood occurred at about 9 a.m., officials said. Chicago Fire Department Deputy Chief Marc Ferman told reporters a few hours later that the department had finished searching for potential victims and was “confident” that nobody remained trapped inside the building, of which much of the top floor had collapsed. READ MORE: Shooting at 4th of July parade in Chicago suburb Highland Park leaves 6 dead, two dozen hospitalized He said technical crews had shored up the upper floors to allow firefighters to search “to make sure we didn’t leave any victims underneath any of the debris.” A cause of the blast had not yet been determined. Seven of the injured were in the building on the city’s West Side when the explosion occurred and one apparently was in a building across the street, Ferman said. Three of the people who were hurt had serious to critical injuries, the department said. WATCH: Rapper Common, Rev. Moss on helping Chicago heal and the ‘plot’ against Black America Photographs and video posted on the Chicago Fire Department’s Twitter page showed that much of the top floor was destroyed. Scores of bricks and other debris had fallen onto the street, crushing at least one car and seriously damaging two others. Several residents said they were home when the explosion rocked the building. “I was asleep, and all of a sudden there was a loud booming,” Lawrence Lewis, who was asleep at the time, told WGN television. “I woke up to my windows gone, my front door blown open. I just saw smoke, and I ran out of the house. I was asleep. I’m shook up right now.” Otis Maning, who lives across the street, told the Chicago Sun-Times that he was on his couch watching television when “all of a sudden I hear, `Boom!’” “My heart almost shot out of my body. … I saw windows busted open, I saw debris,” he added. Chicago police bomb squad and agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to the explosion. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now