Second body found following Minneapolis apartment explosion, fire

Officials have found a second body in the rubble of a Minneapolis apartment building where a New Year’s morning explosion and fire left 14 people injured.

At about 10 a.m. Friday, Minneapolis Fire Department officials uncovered the body and turned over the remains to the Hennepin County medical examiner’s office for examination, according to a statement. The first body was was uncovered on Thursday afternoon.

At least four of the 14 people were seriously injured in the blast, which forced some residents to leap out of their windows into the subzero cold to escape the blaze.

Some flames reached at least 20 feet in height out of the building’s second and third floors. More than 50 firefighters responded to the fire, according to the release.

“The cause of the fire is still under investigation,� the Fire Department said in a statement Friday.

Fire Chief John Fruetel said Thursday that some residents had smelled some kind of gas before the explosion, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

However, a spokeswoman for CenterPoint Energy, a natural gas utility, said the company had “no natural gas in the area,� the newspaper reported. Fruetel said the explosion was likely not caused by a bomb.

[For the record 12:32 p.m. PST Jan. 4: In an earlier version of this post, Minneapolis Fire Chief John Fruetel was incorrectly quoted as saying the explosion was likely caused by a bomb. Fruetel said the explosion was likely not caused by a bomb.]

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