3 people killed, 5 injured in gas explosion at Dallas apartment building

Originally published on nbcnews.com

Three people were killed and at least five others were hospitalized when a gas explosion destroyed a Dallas apartment complex Thursday afternoon, city officials said.

The blaze erupted just before 1 p.m. in the Oak Cliff neighborhood, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue and the Dallas Police Department.

Dallas Fire-Rescue said that the incident was deemed a two-alarm fire when crews responded to a call about a gas leak but that it escalated into a five-alarm fire.

“Our first responders, while they were en route to that gas leak, a subsequent explosion occurred,” Deputy Chief Mark D. Berry said at an evening news conference. Officials have said that firefighters were at the scene within two minutes of the call.

Three bodies were found in the debris of the complex. They were identified as two females and one child, said Jason Evans, a Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesperson, in an evening update.

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