Police in eastern Ohio issued a public safety alert Tuesday urging locals to avoid the downtown Youngstown area after an explosion at a Chase Bank building injured multiple people — one critically.
Dramatic photos and videos from the scene indicate the afternoon blast destroyed the entire ground level of a JP Morgan Chase bank.
Here is the dramatic security video of the explosion at the Chase Bank Building in downtown Youngstown. pic.twitter.com/QdapO52uME
— 21 WFMJ (@21WFMJ) May 28, 2024
“Please AVOID downtown Youngstown,” the Youngstown firefighters union warned around 3 p.m. “Major explosion from possible natural gas leak with injuries.”
A representative for Enbridge Gas, which services the area, told WYTV the cause of the explosion was not immediately known. News station WKYC reported a bomb squad was dispatched to the scene.
Seven victims were taken to Youngstown’s Mercy Health Hospital, according to Cleveland 19 News. At least one of those people was reported seriously injured.
According to WYTV, at least two people, a man and a woman, remain unaccounted for. Youngstown Fire Chief Barry Finley said the rest of the people inside the building at the time of the blast have been located.
