At least one person was killed and hundreds of people were displaced Saturday night when a powerful explosion leveled two homes and sparked an extra-alarm fire on the south side of Indianapolis, a fire department spokeswoman said.
Two homes exploded just after 11 p.m. Saturday, sparking fires in at least two others and damaging upwards of a dozen homes in total, said Lt. Bonnie Hensley, a spokeswoman for the Indianapolis Fire Department.
"It looks like a war zone here right now," Hensley said.
Fire officials notified the Marion County Coroner's Office of a fatality early Sunday morning, and officials were still search hours after the blast, Hensley said. Two people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
It was not immediately clear whether anyone else was missing.
Officials evacuated about 200 people to a nearby elementary school, where the Red Cross was sheltering about 20 of them there for the night. Others spent the night in the homes of friends of family, and officials planned to take the remainder to the Southport Presbyterian Church.
Firefighters had brought the fire under control by 12:30 a.m. Sunday but were still putting out hotspots afterward, Hensley said.The explosion happened near the intersection of South Stop 11 Road and South Sherman Drive, said Capt. Rita Burris, a spokeswoman for the Indianapolis Fire Department.
About 75 firefighters were on the scene as of 11:30 p.m.
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asege@tribune.com
Twitter: @AdamSege
Fire official: At least one dead in Indianapolis blast
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Fire official: At least one dead in Indianapolis blast
