A tragic explosion occurred this week in Youngstown, Ohio, when a crew working in the basement area of a building accidentally cut a pressurized gas line. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed on Friday that the crew was unaware of the line’s pressurized state before the incident took place.
According to NTSB board member Tom Chapman, workers were in the basement to remove old infrastructure such as piping. Chapman noted that there was no indication of a gas leak before they began cutting the pipe. However, upon making the third cut, they realized there was a problem.
Workers promptly pulled the fire alarm and notified residents and bank employees to evacuate after the cut occurred. The explosion took place six minutes later, leaving investigators to determine the cause of the pressurized pipe.
Tragedy struck on Tuesday afternoon when an explosion ravaged the ground floor of Realty Tower, resulting in the loss of a bank employee’s life and causing injuries to numerous individuals.
The building’s collapse caused a portion of the ground floor to cave in, sending the façade tumbling across the street. Bricks, glass, and other debris now cluttered the sidewalk outside the 13-story structure, which housed a Chase Bank branch at street level and apartments on the upper floors.