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A South Philadelphia row house exploded Monday, leveling the structure and sending eight people to the hospital, including a 15-year-old girl and an infant.

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Laura McColgan lives around the corner from the blast.

"I’m still shaking," she said of her experience.

"I was upstairs brushing my teeth. I heard a very loud noise. Not being sure what it was, I came downstairs and went out my back door," McColgan added.

"I went outside and saw everyone running around the corner. I saw the building down, saw the smoke and smelled the horrible smell of gas as well."

 

Emergency crews shut off traffic in the immediate area and went door-to-door to get people out of homes as a precaution. Utility crews are on the scene.

Fire officials confirmed that it was an explosion and that they are conducting an investigation in hopes of determining whether it was caused by a gas leak.

A private contractor was working in the basement of the home when the explosion occurred. He was burned and taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Some of the victims are from neighboring homes.

Here’s hoping for everyone’s speedy recovery.