Six people were found living in the wreckage of a Missouri home on Saturday morning after an explosion that no one could explain damaged the building.
Several people were inside the Jefferson City home when it blew up. The Jefferson City Fire Department said in a statement that all six were taken to University Hospital in Columbia, Missouri, with moderate to serious injuries.
The department said that some of the six were helped at the scene for breathing in smoke. There were two of them who were in such bad shape that they had to be taken to University Hospital as a priority.
Eric Hoy, who is in charge of emergency medical services for Cole County, said that half of the patients needed care that could save their lives.
“Three of them were in critical condition and needed a lot of life support,” he told Columbia’s NBC affiliate KOMU.
A request for a report on the patients made Saturday night did not get a response right away from the hospital. Their ages and genders were not known.
The home was in an area near the Missouri River. At 2:44 a.m., there was a report of an explosion at the home, which the city fire department said they were called to check out. It said that they soon found out the house had fallen.
During the day, video footage of the house showed that it was bent, broken, and in some places almost flattened on snow-covered ground.
It said that the special operations rescue team of the Jefferson City Fire Department was called in to help pull people out of the rubble.
The fire department said in a statement, “Rescue operations were particularly difficult due to the extensive structural collapse and large amounts of debris.”
Jake Holee, assistant chief and spokesman for the Jefferson City Fire Department, said that the department was lucky to have the right tools on hand and 37 people helping out at the scene.
He told KOMU, “We’re really thankful that we have that gear, and we use the time to train.”
Police said that rescuers had to dig through several layers of debris to get at least one of the six out.
According to the department, it took more than three hours to get all six out and save two pets that were then turned over to animal control officer.
The reason for the blast was being looked into.
There are 133 miles between St. Louis and Jefferson, which is the center of the state.
