Four individuals were killed and at least two more were injured after an explosion destroyed and damaged multiple homes in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, on Thursday evening.
First responders arrived at the scene on Washington Street and Butler Avenue at approximately 8:00 p.m. after reports came in about a blast in the area, according to NBC Philadelphia.
However, the cause of the explosion was not known and authorities are still investigating what happened.
“I heard a huge explosion,” neighbor Russell Noll said, adding that he thought a bomb had gone off. “I thought somebody dropped a bomb somewhere. And then all the sirens started going off. And it wasn’t too far from where I lived. So I started walking towards where the sirens and ambulance were going and it was just a huge explosion around the whole area.”
Aerial video footage showed the scene while officials assessed the damage, walking through the debris that was scattered everywhere:
Neighbor Steven Diamond on Friday said he was in bed when he heard the loud noise. Diamond told Fox 29 he dashed outside to find what “looked like an apocalypse.”
The American Red Cross of Southern Pennsylvania reported that it had assisted approximately seven families, and a high school reopened its doors to help feed displaced neighbors with nowhere to go.
A photo showed volunteers serving those affected:
Neighbor Ashley Miller said she was seated on her bed when a window in the room suddenly blew out.
“I just saw smoke and I thought the whole back of the house was gone and I just ran for the kids and ran out the door,” Miller told NBC Philadelphia.
More images captured at the scene showed the debris — including a mattress, a large trash can that had been torn apart, and plywood strewn across the grass:
On Thursday, authorities said at least four had been killed, two had been hurt, and an additional two people were unaccounted for at the time. However, they did not report the victims’ identities.