A massive explosion leveled an Ohio home early Thursday morning, with the caught-on-video blast throwing two people into the air — with both miraculously surviving with severe burns, officials said.
Doorbell cam footage captured the explosion at a home in Canton around 4 a.m., shattering the silence in the quiet residential neighborhood — with one survivor later found with severe burns three-tenths of a mile away, according to news reports.
“It was a big boom like a bomb or missile was going off,” neighbor Victor Howell told WJW-TV News. “It actually shattered some of my neighbor’s windows even and shook my whole house.”
Authorities said the explosion rattled homes 2 miles away.
Fire officials said one person was blown into the street by the blast and suffered burns over 80% of their body, while a second survivor was found blocks away, also badly burned, Fox affiliate WKYC-TV News.
“Firefighters located one occupant in the street who had been blown from the structure by the blast,” officials said in a statement. “The individual sustained serious burns and traumatic injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
“The injured victim reported that another individual had been inside the residence at the time of the explosion,” officials said.
First responders searched for the second survivor to no avail — until shortly before 8:30 a.m., when firefighters responded to a call “for reports of an adult male suffering from severe burns” blocks away.
It is unclear how the second survivor got so far from the scene.
Both victims were transported to area hospitals for treatment, WKYC said.
“Several homes in the surrounding area sustained varying degrees of fire and structural damage as a result of the explosion,” according to the statement.
“The explosion scattered debris throughout the neighborhood and brought down multiple power lines, creating additional hazards for emergency responders and residents,” it said. “Utility companies were requested to the scene to address electrical hazards.”
The cause of the blast is under investigation.
