Explosion rocks condominium in Detroit suburb, sparking fires and injuring 2

ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — An explosion possibly caused by a natural gas leak rocked a suburban Detroit condominium, damaging other units, sparking fires and seriously injuring at least two people, officials said Wednesday.

“It is an absolute miracle, if you have seen that scene, that we are talking currently about no fatalities,” said Chris Barnett, the supervisor of Oakland County's Orion Township, northwest of Detroit.

One condo building exploded Tuesday evening at the Keatington New Town Association, causing significant damage to another building and what appeared to be minor damage to two or three other buildings, said township Fire Chief Ryan Allen.

“I was on the computer and there was a shock wave," resident Scully Hirsack told TV station Fox 2 Detroit. “The screen popped out at me and everything came off the walls.”

A man and a woman in their 70s were injured. One was in critical but stable condition Wednesday while the other was listed between stable and serious, Allen said.

"We have lots of people homeless,” Barnett said, adding that 18 families were displaced.

At a news conference, he praised an unidentified Amazon driver who apparently helped a man to safety.

“There were many heroes last night,” Barnett said.

A definitive cause of the explosion was not known, though Allen said a natural gas leak was possible. A witness said she smelled gas. Consumers Energy turned off gas as first responders worked the fire.

“Our system was intact and no abnormalities found,” said Chris Fultz, the utility's vice president of gas operations.

Two people who were unaccounted after the explosion were later found and were not in the building.

Debris is seen from the aftermath of an explosion that destroyed a condominium at the Keatington New Town Association subdivision in Orion Township, Mich., Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

Debris is seen from the aftermath of an explosion that destroyed a condominium at the Keatington New Town Association subdivision in Orion Township, Mich., Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (David Guralnick/Detroit News via AP)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday that it has suspended the search for a man believed to have gone overboard from a cruise ship as it was returning to San Francisco after a voyage to Ensenada, Mexico.

The Ruby Princess, operated by Princess Cruises, arrived in San Francisco at 6:50 a.m. Monday following the five-day trip. Officials searched the ship several times for the missing passenger, according to a statement released by the cruise line. They also scoured security videos, but there was no sign of the man, a 72-year-old American citizen traveling alone, the statement says.

“Having ruled out other possibilities, this is being treated as a man overboard incident,” Princess Cruises said.

The Coast Guard began aerial searches Monday afternoon in the Pacific Ocean about 45 miles (72 kilometers) off the coast of Monterey, California. The effort was suspended around 5:30 p.m. "pending any new developments,” Coast Guard Petty Officer Loumania Stewart said in an email Tuesday morning.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection was investigating the disappearance.

The Ruby Princess left San Francisco again Monday evening for a 16-day voyage to the Hawaiian Islands.

FILE - The Ruby Princess is docked in San Francisco, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)