One person was killed and three more injured in a gas explosion in the Baka neighborhood of Jerusalem Tuesday, after parking garage collapsed as a result of the explosion, police said.
Ten fire and rescue teams were deployed to the scene of the explosion, and are currently searching for survivors who may be trapped under the rubble.
A police spokesperson reported Tuesday afternoon that one person had been found dead at the scene following the collapse.
“In Jerusalem's Baka neighborhood, at the scene where the explosion took place earlier at the underground car park, search and rescue units found one person under the rubble who was pronounced dead at the scene,” the spokesperson said. “Units are continuing to search the area.”
Authorities say the victim was a worker in his 40s.
Three other people were also found underneath the rubble, including a 62-year-old woman, a woman in her 70s and a man in his 70s. The three suffered light injuries.
A man and woman in their 60s whose apartment is in the building where the explosion occurred were treated by MDA medics and evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, fully conscious and without signs of external injury.
Senior MDA paramedic Rivka Or and MDA paramedic Betzalel Ben-Hemo said, "When we arrived at the scene, we saw large-scale destruction in one of the apartments and part of the ceiling of the underground parking lot that collapsed. A man and woman in their 60s who were present during the explosion were extricated from the scene.
"They were fully conscious without external injuries, we conducted an initial check in the area and evacuated them for further examination and treatment at the hospital in order to rule out the possibility of injuries from the blast. Searches are being carried out at the scene in order to confirm that there are no trapped persons in the parking lot. "
Police dispatched to the scene have opened an investigation into the circumstances of the incident.