Four people died and five others were injured when a duplex on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota exploded on Thursday. The tenants smelled propane gas and were searching for a leak just before the explosion wich occurred at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, Oglala Sioux Tribe spokesperson Kevin Yellow Bird Steele told local media.
Those who perished include an elderly man and an elderly woman who lived on one side of the duplex, and two young women who lived on the other side. Their names and ages have not been released.
Three of those injured were airlifted to hospitals outside Pine Ridge: one man was taken to Rapid City, a young woman was taken to Sioux Falls and another young woman was taken to Scottsbluff, Neb. Two others who were injured were taken to the Pine Ridge Hospital for treatment.
There are about 19,000 members of the Oglala Sioux Tribe who live on the reservation. Covering more than 2 million acres, the Pine Ridge Reservation is one of the largest in the nation.
Residents said they heard a loud boom, felt buildings shake and saw smoke rising from the site where the duplex once stood in the East Ridge neighborhood about a half mile from the center of town. One witness said after the explosion, people ran to the site and started digging in the rubble for survivors. Emergency responders were still searching hours after the explosion occurred. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the explosion.
Sources:
http://www.kotatv.com/content/news/Explosion-reported-on-the-Pine-Ridge-Indian-Reservation-396240041.html
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/four-dead-in-duplex-explosion-on-pine-ridge-indian-reservation/article_823ecef8-2396-5e00-85f9-f2147059210f.html
http://www.kdlt.com/news/local-news/multiple-deaths-after-pine-ridge-duplex-explosion/41998810