A thunderous natural gas explosion leveled a home in Southern California, killing a gas worker and injuring more than a dozen other people Monday, authorities said.
The house in Murrieta, about 70 miles north of San Diego, exploded soon after 12 p.m. local time as crews from a gas company were working to fix a gas line.
One of the workers was killed in the blast and 15 other people were injured, including three firefighters who were called to the house about an hour before the explosion.
Flames shot about 20 feet in the air and neighbors said the blast shattered windows throughout the neighborhood.
A representative from the gas company, SoCalGas, told CNN it is working to find out what caused the deadly explosion.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of today’s incident which took the life of one of our employees, injured firefighters, and impacted others,” SoCalGas told the news channel in a statement.
“Our focus now is on working with first responders to make the area safe, and supporting all those involved. We will continue to work with first responders to determine what caused the accident. Our sympathies and thoughts are with the individuals and families of those impacted,” it added.
With Post wires