Gas explosion levels house in Miłków-Kolonia, firefighters recover a body
Firefighters pulled a man's body from the rubble of a house in Miłków-Kolonia, Lubelskie, on Thursday afternoon. Services point to a gas explosion as the preliminary cause, and reports of a drone strike have been denied.
Explosion and collapse
Thursday's blast destroyed a single-storey brick house in Miłków-Kolonia, in Parczew county in the Lubelskie region. The fire service received the report at about 12:10, and police said the explosion happened around that time. Witnesses and neighbours described the force of the blast as huge, and residents said the sound had jolted people to their feet. The roof caught fire and collapsed, so firefighters first had to put out the blaze before they could search the rubble. The road beside the property was closed, and police set up diversions. Anna Kamola, spokeswoman for the Lublin Voivodeship Police, told Fakt that the blast was reported at about that hour.
The explosion happened around 12:10. A rescue operation is under way at the scene.
Search and rescue
Eight fire units, the Specialist Search and Rescue Group from Chełm and a helicopter from the LPR air ambulance service were sent to the site. Police initially said that at least one person could be under the rubble. At about 17:00, firefighters recovered the body of a man from the rubble, a 75-year-old family member who lived in the house, police spokeswoman Ewelina Semeniuk confirmed. Krzysztof Fila, spokesman for the Parczew fire service, said more than 50 firefighters were still searching for any other injured people, while police and prosecutors worked at the scene.
- Report of the explosion received by the fire service, police confirm the blast at about 12:10
- Firefighters recover the body of a 75-year-old family member from the rubble
Cause under investigation
Fila said the most likely cause was a gas explosion.
Most likely there was a gas explosion. No object was found, and most likely nothing hit this building.
Early reports said a drone had struck the house, but the services denied this. Semeniuk ruled out an impact from the air.
We rule out that something could have hit the house from the air.
The property owner, who was outside the house when the blast happened, told police that the building was empty. Prosecutors are establishing the cause of the explosion.
