Dallas Apartment Explosion: 3 dead and 'everyone is accounted for'

DALLAS - The focus is shifting to recovery and an investigation after a gas explosion at an apartment building in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas. 

At least three people are confirmed dead and five were injured, including one who was critically injured.

Live Updates

4 p.m.: Search efforts concluded

Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Justin Ball says search efforts have concluded, reaffirming that all residents of the apartment are accounted for.

An investigation is underway into the explosion, but a cause has not yet been determined. The National Transportation Safety Board has taken the lead on the investigation.

Kevin Oden, Dallas Director of Emergency Management and Crisis Response, says 19 families were affected, and 10 families have been put in hotels after their units were destroyed by the explosion. 

Dallas staff is working on long-term housing for those affected, and DFR is working with non-profits to get home kits available for victims.

All victims who were in need of a hotel were accommodated by 9 p.m. on Thursday, and no other victims reached out in need of help on Friday.

1 p.m.: Everyone is accounted for

Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Justin Ball said his crews searched the explosion site with cadaver dogs and drones until 2 a.m. on Friday.

The apartment building had 23 units and 19 were occupied. Based on the resident list and conversations with residents and their family members, "everyone is accounted for," the chief said.

He said there are still only three confirmed fatalities. 

12:00 p.m.: Donations for the families

Mission Oak Cliff is holding a donation drive to help those who lost everything in Thursday’s explosion and fire.

The organization is asking for water, non-perishable food, clothing, diapers, wipes, blankets and gift cards.

Donations can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday and then again next week on Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Mission Oak Cliff, which is a ministry of the Cliff Temple Baptist Church, is located at 111 S. Beckley Avenue. 

10:30 a.m.: Victim autopsies

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said the medical examiner has the bodies of several victims killed in Thursday's explosion.

"We're going through the process of IDing those folks. They were autopsied this morning. We'll get more information shortly on that," he said. "And our hearts go out to the families, and we won't be announcing publicly the names of the people until we've notified next of kin."

Jenkins said that at this point there are still only three deaths.

10:00 a.m.: What caused the explosion?

A crew from the National Transportation Safety Board will work to determine the cause of the explosion.

There are still questions about a construction crew that reportedly hit a pipeline.

According to Atmos Energy, it received a report at 12:51 p.m. on Thursday that a construction crew had damaged a natural gas pipeline near 409 E. 9th Street.

However, there are no records of active construction permits for the site. It's still not clear who was doing work or what company was responsible.

Images do show a utility truck at the scene that was partially destroyed by the fire.

9 a.m.: New this morning

Overnight, recovery crews cleared out what was left of the structure. The lot now looks nearly empty.

So far, officials have confirmed that three people dead – two women and one child. Five people were taken to the hospital. One person is in critical condition.

A Thursday evening press conference did not address how many residents are still unaccounted for.

A team from the NTSB is heading to Dallas on Friday to investigate the cause of the blast.

Officials confirmed a gas leak was reported just before the explosion.

Atmos Energy also said a construction crew not related to the company damaged a pipeline.

Dallas Apartment Explosion

The backstory:

The explosion and massive fire happened around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday at The Clyde apartments, which is near the corner of East 9th Street and North Patton Avenue.

Neighbors said they heard a loud boom, and they felt their own apartments shake.

Images from SKY 4 showed the 20-unit apartment building fully engulfed in flames. The windows on neighboring buildings appeared to be blown out and debris was scattered across the street. There also appeared to be a utility truck that was affected by the fire.

A large plume of black smoke was initially visible in Dallas for miles.

At peak, there were more than 100 firefighters at the scene of the five-alarm fire.

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