A house explosion in Ocean County has sent five employees of New Jersey Natural Gas, who were responding to an apparent gas leak there, to the hospital, officials with the gas company said.
The explosion occurred around 10 a.m. on Oak Avenue in Stafford Township, near the Shore. Authorities had evacuated residents of several houses, including those of the one that exploded, before gas crews arrived to investigate the leak, said Mike Kinney, a spokesman for New Jersey Natural Gas.
He did not know the extent of the employees’ injuries.
Max Van Ness, a landscaper from West Creek, said he happened to be driving past the scene when the house exploded, and it was “like a bomb.”
Within seconds, all that was left of the house was a smoldering basement.
“Pretty much there’s just a basement left. . . . There’s not anything left, just destruction everywhere. There’s just debris all over the place.”
Police said more than 75 people had been evacuated from the neighborhood before the house was leveled by the explosion and an ensuing fire. Some houses immediately around the site also appeared to have been damaged by the explosion.
A neighbor told police that firefighters and utility workers had been in the area after reports had been made about the smell of gas in the air.
The explosion shook houses as far as a mile away, officials said.