Dec 23 (Reuters) – An apparent gas explosion caused major damage to a nursing home outside Philadelphia on Tuesday, sending emergency crews to conduct search-and-rescue operations, according to officials and local media reports.

No official information on possible casualties was immediately available.

The Bucks County emergency dispatch center received a report of an explosion with injuries at the Silver Lake Nursing home in Bristol Township, about 21 miles northeast of Philadelphia, shortly after 2 p.m. EST, a county spokesperson said.

“A portion of the building is reported to have collapsed,” the spokesperson, Jim O’Malley, said in an email message, adding that emergency personnel from numerous agencies were dispatched. 

Video footage posted by a nearby police department showed numerous emergency and law enforcement vehicles converging in the area with lights flashing.

Channel2 Now reported that first-response personnel arriving on the scene found significant structural damage to the facility, prompting immediate search-and-rescue operations for residents and staff.

The news outlet cited authorities as saying that about 15 nursing home patients were initially accounted for outside the building, while “multiple others remained unaccounted for.”

It said rescue teams reported “numerous individuals trapped beneath debris on the second floor, as well as additional victims trapped in the basement area.”

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro posted a message on his social media account saying he had been briefed on the incident and that “the scene is still active.”

(Writing and reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Brad Brooks, Maria Tsetkova and Helen Coster. Editing by Donna Bryson, Rod Nickel)

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