Several homes were destroyed in east Ottawa Monday morning after a gas leak triggered an explosion.
Firefighters say they rescued one person from the wreckage alive.
Ottawa paramedics say they got their first call about a loud noise coming from the area of a construction site at about 6:25 a.m.
Ottawa firefighters said a gas leak caused an explosion that had “taken out” multiple houses under construction.
Police said it’s unclear if people were living in the affected homes. Firefighters said they rescued one person from the wreckage who was stable and talking.
Gas is still leaking, firefighters announced at 7:10 a.m.
<a href=”https://twitter.com/OttFire?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@OttFire</a> Firefighters used chainsaws to cut through a large amount of debris & have rescued one person from the wreckage. Individual was stable & talking. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/OttNews?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#OttNews</a> <a href=”https://t.co/ch1hm144nB”>pic.twitter.com/ch1hm144nB</a>
—@OttFire
Paramedics said they had assessed eight people with minor injuries in the surrounding area as of 7:20 a.m.
They later said one of them had been pulled from the house where the explosion appears to have originated, and that the patient was in serious but stable condition.
Tenth Line Road is closed between Décoeur Drive and Wall Road, which is south of Brian Coburn Drive. The scene is about 20 kilometres east of Ottawa’s core.
10th line in orleans <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ottawa?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ottawa</a> <a href=”https://t.co/nEjhHvwHye”>pic.twitter.com/nEjhHvwHye</a>
—@journeyvialens
One person tweeted to CBC Ottawa that the explosion shook their house about two kilometres away.
Ottawa police say OC Transpo buses are being sent to the area to keep affected people warm. They’re set up at the intersection of Tenth Line and Sweetvalley Drive and also at 2370 Tenth Line Rd.
