Miami-Dade

Residents Return Home After Possible Gas Explosion in Opa-Locka

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Dozens of people who were evacuated Friday are now back home after a possible gas explosion rocked their apartment complex in Opa-Locka.

The Opa-Locka Code Enforcement Department sent an inspector Friday to 2281 NW 135 Street following reports of a possible gas explosion in an apartment that knocked out a wall in the three-story building.  

NBC 6 spoke with residents who described the chaos.

“It was a loud explosion. Building shook and the alarm started going off,” resident Jeremy Saunders said. “Everybody was just running out and there was smoke coming from by the elevator.”

Saunders lives on the second floor of the apartment building in Opa-Locka. He says he ran for his life when the explosion shook the building Friday afternoon.

“It was debris falling to the ground floor,” Saunders said.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue says a possible gas leak caused the blast which knocked out a wall in the three-story building.

Dozens of residents had to evacuate and weren’t allowed back inside until midnight. 

“We all were standing like right here in this area by the church,” Dominique Bell, who also lives in the complex said. “We had to wait. Was trying to get more information, what we were gonna do.”

Bell says although she’s glad to be back at home, she still feels nervous. 

“I felt scared but then I don’t want to use the stove no more,” Bell said.

Others like Saunders say they feared the worst after the blast, just months after the collapse of the Champlain Towers in Surfside.

Officials say one person was taken to the hospital.

The Red Cross opened a temporary reception center for those impacted while local officials on the scene restored services to the building.

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