Investigators found a cut gas pipe in the basement of a Silver Spring, Maryland apartment complex that was destroyed Thursday in an explosion and fire.
Officials believe a maintenance worker was doing plumbing work at the Friendly Garden Apartments prior to the explosion, Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said at a news conference.
"It is possible that the worker cut that gas pipe,” Goldstein said, NBC Washington reported.
Fourteen people, including the maintenance worker, were injured in the blast. Three are in serious condition and 11 suffered minor to moderate injuries, a fire official said Friday. The worker has been talking with investigators, the official said.
All known residents of Friendly Garden Apartments have been accounted for but investigators are still working to determine if there were any visitors or other people at the building at the time of the explosion.
Resident T.J. Hall told NBC Washington that he smelled gas Thursday morning as he was leaving.
"When I left this morning, I told my grandma, ‘It smells like gas,’” Hall said.
Andre Kinard, who lives in the area, said he could feel the explosion blast.
"I looked around and that's when I saw just everything to smithereens," he said.
The apartment complex, located on Lyttonsville Road, has multiple buildings, all of which were evacuated on Thursday. Three of the six were deemed unsafe.
Residents would be allowed to return to the remaining three buildings, a fire official said Friday.
