US apartment block collapses after blaze explosions

Last updated at 16:49 13 December 2005


An apartment building in New Jersey partially collapsed today after a suspected gas explosion, and hospital officials said at least five people were injured.

An official at the Bergenfield Fire Department said at least six fire trucks from that department were on the scene and firefighters had also been called in from neighbouring areas to battle the blaze.

"It's a very big fire. They said gas explosion from what we're hearing," the official said.

The fire sent up a large cloud of black smoke that could be seen across the Hudson River in Manhattan.

"It was an apartment building, unknown origin for the explosion," a Bergenfield police spokesman said. Television footage from the scene showed firefighters fighting a fire at what appeared to be an apartment building of at least three stories.

A spokeswoman at Holy Name Hospital in the area said two patients were in transit to the hospital with injuries classified as medium in severity - one with chest pains, the other with neck and back injuries.

An official at Hackensack University Medical Center said another three patients were being treated there, but she declined to say how serious their injuries were.

The Holy Name Hospital spokeswoman said a third hospital was also involved in the rescue.

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