3 Dead, Including 1 Child, After Gas Explosion at Dallas Apartment Building

The explosion occurred in the Oak Cliff neighborhood at around 1 p.m. local time on Thursday, May 28

NEED TO KNOW

• Three people, including a child, have died and at least five are injured after a gas explosion at a Dallas apartment building on Thursday, April 28
• Firefighters were called to an apartment complex in the Oak Cliff neighborhood about a gas leak just before 1 p.m. local time. It quickly erupted into a five-alarm fire, Dallas Fire & Rescue said in a statement shared with PEOPLE
• Atmos Energy, the company that serves much of the greater Dallas area, said that an unaffiliated construction crew struck a natural gas line, potentially causing the explosion

Three people have died, and at least five others were injured following a deadly gas explosion in Dallas on Thursday, May 28.

Dallas Fire & Rescue (DFR) was alerted to a gas leak at an apartment complex on 9th St just before 1 p.m. local time, DFR says in a statement shared with PEOPLE. While first responders were en route to the scene, a gas explosion occurred, and the incident was upgraded to a structure fire.

"The incident ultimately escalated to a 5-alarm fire response," the DFR added, noting that it took 120 firefighters to contain the blaze.

Firefighters then evacuated residents from a nearby apartment complex, and others combed through debris of the two-story building, searching for people who may have been trapped. The search "eventually transitioned from search to recovery mode as it became all the more probable that anyone left in the structure had not survived," the DFR said.

Three people have been confirmed dead. One of the victims is a child, per the DFR. Two women are also deceased, Jason Evans, Public Information Officer for Dallas Fire-Rescue, said during a press briefing published by WFAA Thursday.

Three others were taken to a nearby hospital with undisclosed injuries, the DFR said in its statement. One is in critical but stable condition, while the others are expected to be discharged. Two others took themselves to the hospital with minor injuries.

The DFR is still working through debris and searching for any more potential victims, it said.

Twelve people have been accounted for, NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reported, citing DFR. A total of 23 people lived in the building, sources told the outlet.

“This was enormous,” Evans said during the news conference. “You can just see by the result of what we all saw when we pulled up on the scene.”

“We will continue searching the building through the excavation process and overnight until every last foot, inch of that property has been searched,” Evans added.

Mayor Eric Johnson said in a message on X that he is "closely monitoring" the incident, adding in part: "My prayers are with those injured, their families, and all those who have suffered loss from this tragic event."

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Natural gas service provider Atmos Energy said that a construction company not connected to Atmos damaged a natural gas pipeline, per The New York Times. Atmos did not provide any further details on the construction crew.

PEOPLE has reached out to Atmos Energy for comment.

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