LOS ANGELES — A large explosion in a residential neighborhood killed two people in Ontario, California on Tuesday, police said. The FBI, ATF and a local bomb squad were all on scene.
The incident happened around 12:30 p.m. near South San Antonio Avenue and West Maple Street.
City officials said a “large amount of fireworks at a house ignited, causing a large structure fire.” The house was totally destroyed and nearby homes were badly damaged.
Dramatic video posted to social media showed the moment of the explosion.
My mom got it on tape š³ pic.twitter.com/6QWgCPrMKz
— damian_1027 (@damian_r24) March 16, 2021
Someoneās firework stack went off in Ontario shook our whole neighborhood pic.twitter.com/LmUrtgl0oK
— pmsāļø (@Prudencepms) March 16, 2021
The City of Ontario said in an alert: “We are aware of the loud explosion that was heard recently. The Ontario Police Department and the Ontario Fire Department are investigating it. Please stay clear of the area.”
.@OntarioPD and @OntarioFireDept are currently on scene in the area of Fern Avenue and Francis Street. A large amount of fireworks at a house ignited, causing a large structure fire. Explosions being heard are by fireworks at this time. More details to follow. https://t.co/y6atiGL1OD
— City of Ontario (@CityofOntario) March 16, 2021
Residents in the area were forced to evacuate as crews put out the blaze. At least one injured horse was rescued from a nearby property.
Police did not identify the identities of the two deceased individuals.
#ontarioexplosion – family members of the victims just received the news of the two fatalities. #Ontario #NBCLA pic.twitter.com/KpVVmi6MhE
— AlexVnews (@alexvnews) March 16, 2021
Someone firework stash went off in the neighborhood, felt like we was in the world war! #fox11news #ktla #ontario #fireworks #breakingnews pic.twitter.com/zrKXc0fXfx
— Rosay (@Lux_cue92) March 16, 2021
Explosion in Ontario pic.twitter.com/s5qjLmydMa
— Maximus Ugalde (@Maximus_13_tfa) March 16, 2021
Still going pic.twitter.com/9nYa37NSqi
— pmsāļø (@Prudencepms) March 16, 2021
Ontario is a city in California, east of Los Angeles.
