Seven people were injured, one seriously, and two people remain missing following an explosion in Youngstown, Ohio, on Tuesday.
A bomb exploded near the main square on Tuesday afternoon, and police asked people to avoid the area. It is unclear what caused the explosion at the Chase Bank building and apartment complex, officials said.
Youngstown Fire Chief Barry Finley initially ruled the incident a gas explosion, but later said crews were working to determine if there was a gas leak.
“One thing I know for sure: there was a bomb,” Finley told reporters at a news conference Tuesday evening.
Mercy Health reported Tuesday evening that it was treating seven people injured in the crash, including one in critical condition.
Finley said the man and woman were not identified after a search of the building. The fire chief said the man was a bank employee. He said police searched his vehicle after the explosion. “We have to assume he’s in the building by then,” Finley said. The basement on the
th floor collapsed and was flooded, Finley said, and investigators wanted to send a mini drone to assist in the search.
Chase Bank is located on the ground floor of the building with apartments twelve floors above. Authorities said the building was evacuated and roads in the area were closed to traffic for an unknown period of time due to the possibility of collapse.
A spokesperson for
Chase told ABC News that the company is “in close communication with local authorities to ensure the safety of everyone in the building and the surrounding area.”
“Then we’ll try to find out what happened and assess the damage.”
Authorities said there are no signs of suspicious activity at this time.
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