3 Critically Injured In Rowhome Explosion In Baltimore

Three persons, including a 16-year-old girl, were injured in a huge explosion that rocked a neighborhood in Maryland's Baltimore.

The blast took place at around 2 p.m. Tuesday on the 1100 block of Bayard Street in Pigtown, according to the city's fire department. The explosion originated at a rowhome that was completely flattened due to its impact, trapping three occupants inside, according to Forth Worth Star-Telegram.

A 70-year-old man, a 48-year-old woman, and a 16-year-old girl were pulled out from the rubble in critical condition.

The woman and the girl were taken to a burn center for treatment, while the man was being treated at Shock Trauma for the injuries he sustained when a portion of the house collapsed on him while he was trying to save the other two, Baltimore City Fire Department spokesperson Chief Roman Clark said.

A witness said he heard a sharp hiss of gas shooting up when he was sitting on a bench in nearby Carroll Park. The sound was followed by a loud boom, resulting in the front windows of a house on Bayard Street shattering into the park across the street.

"I've never seen nothing like it. I'm still messed up from it," witness Aaron Bell told Baltimore Sun.

Bell added he ran to assist a woman who was dangling from a window, calling for help as the house erupted into intense flames. The cause of the explosion was under investigation, the fire department spokesperson noted.

Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) said in a statement that they were assisting first responders at the scene. "BGE completed upgrades in October to the gas main that services the 1100 block of Bayard Street," Jane Ballentine, a spokesperson for BGE told the outlet.

One BGE employee last visited the site of the explosion in early November, the agency said in a statement to CBS Baltimore. "There have not been any BGE crews in that area since a technician turned on electric service to one of the homes in the 1100 block on November 3."

Phylicia Porter, with the Office of Emergency Management, said an excavator was deployed to the scene as firefighters battled the blaze. "An excavator has been requested and is en route to assist. At the present time, possibly three families may need to be relocated."