7 hurt, 2 missing after natural gas explosion tears facade off bank in Ohio

A natural gas explosion explosion in Ohio, blew open the facade of a downtown bank building Tuesday afternoon, with seven people injured and at least two people missing. The front of the Realty building in Youngstown was heavily damaged. Images from the scene show the facade of the building had been destroyed. The building is home to a Chase bank. Youngstown fire Chief Barry Finley said everyone had been accounted for except for one man, who may be a bank employee, and a woman.“We honestly don’t know if that person is down there or not,” he said, referring to the man. Officials were not allowing anyone back into the Realty building or the neighboring Double Tree hotel. Officials were concerned about the structural integrity of the building, so no firefighters were being sent in initially.Stephanie Moore, a representative for Enbridge Gas, said a cause for the explosion was unknown as of Tuesday evening and that the Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office would be investigating. She said the company was alerted just before 3 p.m. to the incident.“Public safety is our top priority, and we are onsite and working closely with local emergency responders to contain the area and have shut off gas to the entire block as a safety precaution,” Moore said in a statement. A spokesperson from Mercy Health-Youngstown said that seven people had been injured in the explosion, with one person in critical condition. Finely said one person who had been injured was on a ventilator.Enbridge Gas extended its condolences to those impacted by the explosion. A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase said, "Right now, we are in close contact with local officials to check on the safety of everyone in the building and area. After that, we'll work to determine what happened and to assess the damage."