BRISTOL, Pa. (AP) — A devastating explosion erupted on Tuesday at a nursing home near Philadelphia, resulting in the tragic loss of at least two lives. The blast caused part of the building to collapse, unleashed a fierce fire, and left individuals trapped inside, as reported by local authorities.

During a press briefing held several hours after the incident, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro confirmed the fatalities. He commended the bravery of emergency responders who risked their lives amid intense flames, the overwhelming smell of gas, and a subsequent explosion, to rescue both residents and staff members.

Fire officials, five hours after the explosion, announced that they remained in “rescue mode.” Efforts were still underway, with responders meticulously searching for potential victims using their hands, search dogs, heavy machinery, and sonar technology.

The explosion occurred at the Bristol Health & Rehab Center in Bristol Township, coinciding with the presence of a utility crew investigating a reported gas leak at the site.

A towering column of black smoke could be seen billowing from the nursing home, as emergency personnel, including fire trucks and ambulances from the surrounding region, converged on the scene with earthmoving equipment, all striving to manage the chaos and aid those affected.

Authorities did not identify those who died and did not know the total number of those injured after residents and employees were evacuated to a number of different hospitals.

Shapiro asked his fellow Pennsylvanians to take a moment to pray “for this community, for those who are still missing, for those who are injured, and for those families who are about to celebrate Christmas with an empty chair at their table.”

The town’s fire chief, Kevin Dippolito, said at the Tuesday evening news conference that there were five people still unaccounted for, but he cautioned that some may have left the scene with family members.

Dippolito described a chaotic rescue where firefighters found people stuck in stairwells and elevator shafts, and pulled residents out of the fiery building through windows and doors. Two people were rescued from a collapsed section of building, he said.

Firefighters handed off patients to waiting police officers outside, including one “who literally threw two people over his shoulders,” Dippolito said. “It was nothing short of extraordinary.” A second explosion erupted during the rescue, he said.

Bucks County emergency management officials said they received the report of an explosion at approximately 2:17 p.m. and said a portion of the building was reported to have collapsed.

Willie Tye, who lives about a block away, said he was sitting at home watching a basketball game on TV when he heard a “loud kaboom.”

“I thought an airplane or something came and fell on my house,” Tye said.

He got up to go look and saw “fire everywhere” and people escaping the building. “Just got to keep praying for them,” Tye said.

Shapiro said a finding that the gas leak caused the explosion was preliminary.

The local gas utility, PECO, said while its crews were responding to reports of a gas odor at the nursing home, an explosion happened. “PECO crews shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility to ensure the safety of first responders and local residents,” the utility said in a statement.

Investigators from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s went to the scene. Finding that the explosion was caused by a gas leak won’t be confirmed until the agency can examine the scene, a utility commission spokesperson said.

Musuline Watson, who said she was a certified nursing assistant at the facility, told WPVI-TV/ABC 6 that, over the weekend, she and others there smelled gas, but “there was no heat in the room, so we didn’t take it to be anything.”

The 174-bed nursing home is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Philadelphia. It is newly affiliated with Saber Healthcare Group and had been known until recently as Silver Lake Healthcare Center.

In a statement, Saber called the explosion “devastating.” It said facility personnel had promptly reported a gas smell to PECO before the explosion and that it was working with authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of staff, residents and the community.

The latest state inspection report for the facility was in October and the Pennsylvania Department of Health found that it was not in compliance with several state regulations.

The inspection report said the facility failed to provide an accurate set of floor plans and to properly maintain several stairways, including storing multiple paint buckets and a bed frame under landings.

It also said the facility failed to maintain portable fire extinguishers on one of the three levels and failed to provide the required “smoke barrier partitions,” which are designed to contain smoke on two floors. It also said it didn’t properly store oxygen cylinders on two of three floors.

According to Medicare.gov, the facility underwent a standard fire safety inspection in September 2024, during which no citations were issued. But Medicare’s overall rating of the facility is listed as “much below average,” with poor ratings for health inspections in particular.

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Associated Press reporter Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., and Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report. Levy and Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.