Investigators are combing through the rubble of a Nanaimo home at 306 Pine Street that exploded into pieces at around 8:20pm Sunday night. The explosion also knocked down a nearby power line and interrupted phone service to the local RCMP detachment for about 20 minutes.
According to RCMP, police and fire crews were on scene within minutes, and detected a strong odor of natural gas. No one was located in the debris field. A neighboring home sustained significant damage from the blast, and two of its occupants were hit with flying glass. They were taken to the Nanaimo hospital for treatment.
Investigators believe the home was vacant at the time, and that the last tenants had been evicted at the end of January.
Emergency crews, which included Police, Fire, EHS, BC Hydro and Fortis were on scene for most of the night. The debris field was secured to await investigators who returned in the morning to attempt to determine exactly what caused the explosion.
If anyone has information on the incident, please call the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345, and quote file # 2022-6847.
