Two Injured in House Explosion in Cape May

An explosion leveled a home in Lower Township, Cape May County

At least two people were seriously injured when a house exploded in Lower Township, Cape May County Thursday afternoon, officials and eyewitnesses said.

"It was a horrific explosion," said Lower Township Mayor Michael Beck who lives about 150 feet away and heard the explosion just before 4:00 p.m.

"I heard the explosion and we came over here and it was a large fire, building completely flat, car next to it on fire," said Beck. "It's totally demolished."

A woman, who lives on East Atlantic Avenue, down the street from the explosion tells NBC10 that she watched a man and a woman taken away by emergency crews.

"I seen 3 or 4 people carrying a woman, an elderly woman, down the street towards the ambulance that was coming up the street, " said Jamie Swindell. "Then about 2 minutes after that, I seen a wheelchair coming down the street and the husband was in the wheelchair and they were both in really bad condition."

John Babbitt, who also lives in the neighborhood, says he didn't see what happened, but he definitely felt it.

"My whole house just shook," said Babbitt. "I didn’t know what it was. I thought it was an earthquake for a second. Then I saw a bunch of fire and smoke."

Lower Township Police say the husband and wife are in their mid-60s and suffered serious burn injuries.

"The man appeared to have some burns on his feet and he had a blanket wrapped around him and had some burns on his face," said Swindell.

Mayor Beck thanked some local heroes in the neighborhood for springing into action to help the couple.

"The people from the neighborhood, the people who live here including an off-duty police officer, went right in and pulled the wife out," said Beck. "Once they found out where the husband was supposed to be, they went back in and got the husband out of there."

The Cape May County Herald posted this video, capturing the scene just after the explosion.

The street was evacuated, Beck said. Fire crews are still working to put the fire out and aren't sure if it's propane or natural gas, police tell NBC10.

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