MAY 7, 2015
HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, NY
Two people were killed Thursday in an
explosion at a multifamily home in Hastings-on- Hudson.
Django Morrison, who identified himself as the home's owner,
and Hastings police chief Anthony Visalli both said contractors were removing
an old underground tank from the back of the home at 65 Hillside Ave. when it
exploded at about 11:30 a.m., killing two workers.
They said there was no other immediate danger to the area.
A truck belonging to Three D Industrial Maintenance was
parked at the house. A woman who tearfully answered the telephone at the
Hawthorne company, run by John Dubbioso, said that the owner was at the scene
but she had no additional information.
The home where the explosion occurred is across the street
from Hastings High School and Farragut Middle School. School officials notified
parents of the explosion but said students were unaffected.
District Clerk Jeanine Genauer said the two schools are in
lockdown mode, meaning no one is allowed outside the building. Normally, middle
school students go outside for recess and high school students can leave the
building for lunch.
Genauer said the district will alert parents if the normally
scheduled 2:45 p.m. dismissal is affected.
Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who came to the
scene after attending a nearby groundbreaking, said the force of the explosion
threw the tank 75 feet into the air.
"There's a lot of questions - why it happened -
unfortunately two people were killed," he said.
A neighbor, Kevin Ettinger, told The Journal News he was on
his porch when he heard "a huge explosion, like nothing I've ever heard
before."
He ran down a path behind the homes to the explosion scene.
"I saw where it landed," he said of the tank.
"It was laying there crumpled. It was 50 yards away (from the excavation
site) and on fire."
He said workers had been at the home all week and he could
see the rectangular hole in the ground where the tank was being removed.
Another neighbor, Beth Fonfrias who lives on School Street,
said her backyard has a clear view of the accident scene. She said she heard a
"huge explosion ... probably the loudest noise I ever heard.... You could
tell something serious happened."
She said she saw rescue personnel bring two stretchers
behind the house but return with them empty.
Hillside Avenue and School Street remained closed Thursday
afternoon while officials investigated the accident.
A crew from Consolidated Edison also was on scene but a
spokesman, Sidney Alvarez, said gas and electric service were not involved.
Source: foxnews.com/journalnews.com