House Explodes In Phillipsburg, 2 Injured

PHILLIPSBURG, N.J. (AP) -- Two people have been injured in a house explosion.

It happened Saturday afternoon in Phillipsburg. The blast destroyed the home and sent debris flying. An adjacent building also was damaged.

The Express-Time reports Mayor Stephen Ellis says one of the victims had burns to over 50 percent of his body and was flown to an area hospital. The other suffered "just a scratch.'' Their conditions were not immediately available.

The cause of the explosion remains under investigation. Ellis says authorities smelled gas in the area.

Jersey City Power told CBS2 it responded to reports of power outages around 5 p.m. in the area surrounding the explosion. They said 16,000 customers were affected, but that all but 30 had their power restored by around 7 p.m.

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