Jerusalem – Three Killed As Cooking Gas Container Blows Up In Jerusalem Home

Jerusalem – Three people were killed after a cooking gas container blew up causing extensive damage in an apartment building in Jerusalem early Monday morning Magen David Adom EMS said.

Eleven more people were injured in the blast MDA said.

The three dead individuals were a man and woman in their thirties, who were pronounced dead at the scene and a two-year-old toddler who was found unconscious and in critical condition at the scene and who died later in hospital.

Following the blast, police investigators detained a gas technician who worked at the building the day before. Police said that the technician arrived at the building in the evening on Sunday after the residents called him to check what they thought was a gas leak. Police said that their preliminary investigation revealed that the technician only performed a temporary fix to the problem.

The injured included one person who was in serious condition, one moderately injured, seven defined as lightly injured, and another two who were treated for shock.

All of the injured victims were evacuated to Hadassah Medical and Shaare Tzedek Medical Centers.

The explosion that caused extensive damage, took place on the third floor of a four floor building on Shabtai Ha-negri street in the Gilo neighborhood, in the south of the capital. The force of the blast caused the third floor to collapse. The blast also caused damage to adjacent buildings police said.

MDA, soldiers of the IDF Home Front Command and firefighters were continuing to search for potential casualties trapped in the rubble of the building.