Eight people – including a baby – have been injured after a South Philadelphia row house exploded and collapsed following a possible gas leak on Monday morning.

The baby, who was injured by flying glass, was reportedly thrown out of a window into the arms of a firefighter following the 11am explosion in the 400 block of Daly Street in the south of the city.

The baby’s parents were also rushed to hospital, as well as other adults and a 15-year-old.

In helicopter footage of the scene, the house where the explosion occurred has been entirely reduced to rubble, while at least two adjoining homes have also suffered extensive damage.

One of the damaged houses is unoccupied and undergoing renovations; a contractor working on the home suffered severe burns and is in critical condition at University of Pennsylvania Hospital.

Destruction: Fox News helicopter footage shows the house wrecked by the explosion on Monday

Rubble: Six people were taken to hospital with injuries, including a contractor working on the home

The other victims sustained non-life threatening injuries.

It is not known where the injured adults lived, but the baby – who was hurt by flying glass – and the 15-year-old live in nearby houses, rather than the one that exploded.

Images of the chaotic scene show the destroyed structure of the house, as well as show bricks showered onto the narrow Philadelphia street and nearly cover a car parked out front.

Gas and electrical utility crews are now trying to determine what caused the collapse. Philadelphia Gas Works was called about a possible gas leak, but the exact cause has not yet been announced.

Rescue crews are also combing through the rubble to see if anyone else may be trapped.

Laura McColgan told NBC Philadelphia that she was at home around the corner when she heard ‘a very loud noise’.

What happened? Authorities are investigating a possible gas leak at the home before the explosion

‘I went outside and saw everyone running around the corner,’ she said. ‘I saw the building down, saw the smoke and smelled the horrible smell of gas as well… I’m still shaking.’

Another neighbor, Carol McKenna, told Fox29: ‘I definitely felt my whole house shake.

‘The first thing, what I heard was a loud explosion. My house shook, and I didn’t know whether to look outside or not look outside.’

But she did look – and was faced with a street filled with debris and flames emerging from one of the houses, she said.
Utility crews are on the scene, while police have evacuated the street and six other homes on a nearby street just south of the scene. A total of 25 people were evacuated from the area.

Responders are setting up a command center at a nearby street.

The explosion come just weeks after a four-storey wall of a vacant building in Philadelphia collapsed onto a nearby Salvation Army thrift store, killing six people and injuring 13.

The following week, the inspector of the building killed himself. Authorities charged crane operator Sean Benschop, 42, with involuntary manslaughter and other charges.

Read more: Daily Mail