DEVELOPING: Major House Explosion in Dagsboro; Rescue Teams Onsite

DAGSBORO, Del. – The Dagsboro Volunteer Fire Department responded to a house explosion that trapped at least two on Tuesday morning.

At approximately 7:06 a.m. on Sept. 30, crews were dispatched to the 25000 block of Gum Tree Road for a residential explosion. Upon arrival, firefighters discovered a fully collapsed two-story house with the roof having been blown off into a nearby field.

Crews were able to recover a male individual from the debris, but were still working to locate a second resident as of reporting. Additional crews from Frankford and Gumboro Volunteer Fire Departments, as well as Millsboro Fire Company, initially arrived on the scene to assist with rescue operations. Paramedics from Sussex County Department of Public Safety, along with technical rescue teams from Sussex and Kent counties are responding.

Reports indicate that Sussex County Emergency Management Command Post has been established on scene. Crews from oil company PepUp have also arrived on location. Delaware State Police Aviation Section is staging on scene after doing a flyover of area fields in search of the missing victim.

Additional rescue crews from Selbyville and Indian River Volunteer Fire companies, as well as Georgetown Fire Company, were requested after initial searches. The American Red Cross of the National Capital & Greater Chesapeake Region was also requested to the scene, and search and rescue dogs are currently responding.

WMDT will continue to report on this story as updates are made available.