Home Collapses in Syracuse, Injuring at Least 10, Officials Say

A house collapsed in Syracuse, N.Y., on Tuesday afternoon, injuring at least 10 people, including children.

Three people were in “very serious” condition, said the Syracuse district fire chief, Matt Craner.

Firefighters responded to reports of an explosion and a building collapse just after 4 p.m., Michael Monds, the Syracuse fire chief, said at a news conference.

Thirteen people were believed to have been trapped inside the home, a wood building on Carbon Street, when fire crews arrived, the chief said. Ten of those, including several children, were taken to the hospital in varying conditions.

One victim was extricated from an occupied car buried under the rubble, Chief Craner said. It was unclear if the car had crashed into the home, he added, and officials were still investigating the cause of the collapse.

“When we arrived there was a heavy odor of gas and power lines down,” Chief Craner said, “but other than that I have no other information on any possible causes.”

Charlie Szuck lives two doors down from the house that collapsed. He was watching television when he heard a deafening sound.

“It sounded like a bomb going off,” he said. “The whole house shook.”

By the time he got outside, Mr. Szuck said, police officers already had arrived and were ordering people to stay back. The initial response was frenetic, Chief Craner said, as firefighters rushed into and out of the building to rescue people.

That process slowed as firefighters worked to stabilize the building and conduct a painstaking search for survivors. The search and rescue operation was still continuing at around 9:30 p.m., Chief Craner said, because a small portion of the house remained inaccessible to firefighters.

“It’s a very extreme scene for us,” he said.

Ken Sturtz contributed reporting from Syracuse, N.Y.