DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN/AP) — Video from Sky Eye 17 is giving us a new perspective of the explosion that rocked downtown Durham Wednesday morning.
Durham Police Department public affairs manager Wil Glenn says a contractor digging under a sidewalk hit a 2-inch gas line, triggering the explosion. One person was killed and 15 were taken to area hospitals.
Eyewitnesses said they thought a bomb had gone off or an earthquake had hit after the explosion.
Police cars blocked the streets in several directions of the explosion. A thick acrid smoked hung over a shopping district near downtown Durham. Helicopters circled overhead.
