AERIAL footage showed the horrific aftermath of a deadly house explosion that rocked a New Jersey cul-de-sac in what neighbors described as an earthquake-like blast.
Retired police officer Kevin Gilbert, 62, died on Thursday afternoon after his home in South River, about 28 miles south of Newark, was leveled by an explosion.
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A photo of the aftermath showed a gaping hole where Gilbert’s home was as debris and pieces of the house were scattered across the area.
The roof of Gilbert’s home was blown off and landed on the ground almost completely intact.
“It was a horrific scene,” South River Mayor Peter Guindi told local outlet My Central Jersey.
“Houses and cars around had windows blown out. Garage doors were pushed in.
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“We didn’t know if there was anybody in the house. All the houses were evacuated as soon as we got here.”
Officials quickly shut off the gas and power lines in the surrounding area.
Gilbert, who was found dead in the rubble, was a former Newark police officer who retired in 2016.
The blast also injured Gilbert’s son, who is a current police officer, according to Fox affiliate WNYW.
Gilbert’s wife was not injured in the explosion.
Investigators believe a natural gas explosion caused the blast.
State fire marshals are working to determine the origin of the explosion.
‘THE HOUSE WAS FLATTENED’
Neighbors described hearing a loud boom, followed by an earthquake-like shake, as flames and smoke billowed from the home nearby.
“It was just a really, really loud bang, super load, and shook the whole house,” a local resident told NBC affiliate WNBC.
A second neighbor told CBS affiliate WCBS-TV, “All of a sudden, boom. I mean, boom, boom. Like, the whole house, we thought something fell on the house. We really did.”
“We were watching TV, and we heard a massive explosion and ran outside to see it was our neighbor’s house and their family,” a third resident told Pix 11 News.
“The house was flattened, and my husband ran down and tried yelling to see if anyone responded.”
“It was like a big sonic boom,” another neighbor added.
“It was something I had never heard before. Everything shook. My sister was screaming, and everyone was just scared.”
A startled neighbor told WCBS-TV how they believed the blast was another earthquake that hit the state.
“This was so powerful that it just, the house really shook,” the shocked neighbor told the outlet.
“I really thought it was gonna be another earthquake.”
On April 5, a 4.8-magnitude quake rattled the New Jersey-New York City region, marking the strongest tremor to emerge from The Garden State in nearly 250 years.
The large earthquake was felt across six other eastern states, including Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Connecticut, and New Hampshire.
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