[Video below.] Boro Park, Brooklyn – A woman was killed and three other people injured today when a home exploded in Brooklyn, fire officials said.
FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the female victim was found in the stairwell of the building, located at at 4206 13th Ave. in Borough Park, CBS reports.
Councilman Brad Lander said the woman who died was in her 60s and was living in a third-floor apartment.
Nigro said the victim has not yet been identified by police because fire crews are still working to make the building safe to enter.
More than 200 firefighters were at the scene of the 4-alarm fire.
Nigro said the three other people injured were a 27-year-old man, a 34-year-old father and his 9-year-old son. He said they were walking right in front of the building when it exploded and were injured by flying debris.
Police said the 34-year-old man suffered a fractured leg and ankle; the boy also sustained a leg injury. Both were taken to Methodist Hospital.
The 27-year-old man sustained minor injuries to his legs and was also taken to Methodist Hospital.
Authorities said one person who lives in the building is unaccounted for, but stressed that they are not sure if they were home or somewhere else entirely.
Five firefighters were also injured while battling the blaze, which is expected to smolder through the evening, officials said.
Witnesses told WCBS 880’s John Metaxas they heard a blast and looked up to see the facade of the building blown away. The top two floors of the building were left gaping open.
Smoke from the fire could be seen billowing into the air from blocks away.
Commissioner Nigro said there were no reports of odors of gas
prior to the explosion.
“Today, the first call that we received was that there was an explosion,” he said.
Mayor de Blasio said he is confident in the NYPD and FDNY to complete a full investigation, and that ultimately the facts are going to be determined by those two agencies.
{CBS, Matzav.com Newscenter}
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