Explosion in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of Indianapolis (CBS)
Reporting Derrick Blakley
UPDATED: 11/12/2012 6:35
CHICAGO (CBS)– A huge, deadly explosion overnight left a small Indianapolis neighborhood shaken. CBS 2′s Derrick Blakley reports.
Homes were engulfed in flames, as neighbors ran for their lives, and tried to help others. This happened just after 11 p.m. last night in the Richmond Hill neighborhood on Indianapolis’ south side.
Two people were killed in the blast.
One neighbor described the scene saying, “It’s like a war zone. I got up, ran outside, looked around. There was insulation falling down like snow”.
“It was deafening. It was deafening inside our house. And I looked out the window and saw pieces of roof falling out of the sky. An explosion happened. It came two feet off the bed,” another neighbor said.
100 firefighters responded and it took two hours to get the fire under control. Officials found two homes totally destroyed with further damage to dozens more.
And once the smoke cleared, it was evident just how much widespread damage had been done.
The cause of the explosion is still a mystery, 18 hours later. Authorities said they don’t have an idea of what caused it, but are not ruling anything out.
City officials estimated damage at $3.5 million. A local gas utility said an initial inspection found no gas leaks in the area.
