At least one person dead after Maryland house leveled in explosion as officials search for victims

At least one person has died after an apparent explosion at a house in Maryland .

Fire officials confirmed that one person is dead and they are continuing to search for victims at the property on Arthur Woods Drive in Bel Air, northeast of Baltimore . The blast happened at around 6.42am local time on Sunday morning with residents reporting hearing the explosion and feeling their houses shake.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office has asked people to avoid the area, with Harford County Department of Emergency Services confirming one person was found dead at the scene in an update at 8.15am. Firefighters have said there is no ongoing threat to the public.

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A photo posted by country officials showed a number of firefighters around the rubble of one home with another home visibly damaged in the background. Charred pieces of wood were heaped on the property with insulation and splintered wood spilled out into the street.

Volunteer firefighters and Harford County Department of Emergency Services special operations were searching the debris, with specialist equipment brought in to assist in the search. The Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal and Maryland BGE are investigating the cause of the explosion.

The Harford Sheriff's Department said on X, formerly Twitter: "Deputies are currently assisting fire services on the scene of an explosion in the 2300 block of Arthur Woods Drive in Bel Air. Please avoid the area. The investigation is being conducted by the Office of the State Fire Marshal with assistance from the Sheriff's Office CID."

Video footage and pictures from the scene show a huge emergency response with the street lined with first responder's vehicles from the fire department and sheriff's department. In a press conference, the fire department's public information officer said: "At this time we can confirm that there was one fatality, there was one injury that refused transport. It is still an active scene, they are still actively conducting search and rescue operations alongside with Harford County Special Operations with the Department of Emergency Services and multiple fire and EMS agencies throughout the county.

"At this time we are aware that there are approximately 60 personnel on scene from the start of the incident, they have since downgraded that to include just mostly the special operations team to continue the search. There are approximately over 40 units or apparatus on scene. The main thing is, this is still an active scene, this is still an active investigation."

Oliver Alkire, master deputy state fire marshal, added that the fire department was initially "requested for a gas leak outside", however, as they approached the scene they began to receive further reports that the gas leak had turned into a "house explosion". A victim was found and pronounced dead at the scene, he added. Mr Alkire said he was able to "confirm that the house was listed for sale, however, we do not know at this point if there still is anyone inside."