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THOMAS, W.Va. (AP) - Five construction workers were injured, four of them severely, in an apparent natural gas explosion at a home construction site near the Canaan Valley Resort, State Police said Monday.
The blast occurred about 10:20 a.m. in a housing development in the Flat Ridge area, near the popular ski resort, said State Police Sgt. R.L. Stump.
The five workers were building a home and somehow ignited a gas leak, Stump said. The state fire marshal's office is investigating.
Four of the five workers were burned over more than 50 percent of their bodies, injuries the police described as potentially life-threatening. A fifth suffered less serious injuries.
Trooper M.S. Wetzel would not immediately identify the victims but said they worked for W&R General Contractors in Dry Fork. Directory assistance had no listing for the company.
Helicopters could not fly into the area because of bad weather, Stump said, so at least six ambulances were set up in a staging area about 100 yards from the house. Paramedics and emergency medical technicians worked on the front porch to stay out of a steady rain, then transported the injured to several hospitals.
The explosion blew the back wall off the two and a half-story home, which was covered in gray vinyl siding and appeared mostly finished on the outside. Though the remaining walls stood upright, the foundation appeared to have been damaged.
The house is along a gravel road connecting state Routes 32 and 72 in eastern Tucker County, near the Randolph County line. It's one of several large homes in a new development of mostly second homes for people from the Washington, D.C. area.
No other structures were damaged.
Firefighters remained on scene well into the afternoon.
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