Around 10:07 a.m. on Wednesday morning, a building in downtown Durham exploded as a result of a gas leak, leaving one person dead and 17 injured.
Wil Glenn, public affairs manager at the Durham Police Department, said in a video posted on Durham Police’s Twitter account that the explosion occurred at 115 North Duke St.
“A gas leak was caused by a contractor who was [drilling] under the sidewalk,” Glenn said. “He hit a two-inch gas line, which caused an explosion and a partial building collapse.”
Durham Fire Chief Bob Zoldos explained the events leading up to the explosion and actions taken afterwards through a livestream on WRAL’s website.
“At 9:38 this morning, fire units were dispatched for a gas leak in the 100 block of Duke street,” Zoldos said. “Durham Fire Department Engine One arrived to find a significant gas leak, requested additional resources, including Dominion Energy, and started an evacuation in cooperation with the Durham Police Department.”
At 10:07, in the middle of the evacuation, the explosion occurred, which impacted five buildings on the block, according to Zoldos. This left 17 people injured, including a firefighter.
After the explosion, a significant fire arose, which was contained by the Durham Fire Department. Everyone known to be in the building has been accounted for, but additional investigations are still ongoing, Zoldos said.
“This will take some time to go through a very detailed search and rescue operation,” Zoldos said. “This could possibly go for a couple of days, during these operations some of the downtown will be shut down.”
Students in the Durham School of the Arts, which is located nearby, were evacuated as soon as it was confirmed safe to leave, according to WRAL.
The source of the gas leak still cannot be confirmed until an investigation is complete, according to The News & Observer. Several people were taken to Duke University Hospital where six people were in critical condition, others were taken to Duke Regional Hospital and one individual was taken to the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center.
