BALTIMORE — Two people are now confirmed dead following a natural gas explosion that destroyed three row houses in Baltimore and sent seven people to the hospital, authorities said Tuesday.
A man was pulled from the debris shortly before 1 a.m. Baltimore Fire Department spokeswoman Blair Adams said at a morning news conference.
Family members identified him as Joseph Graham, 20, a student at Morgan State University who had attended a party at one of the row homes that was destroyed.
Sunshine Evans told WMAR-TV that Graham, her nephew, was in the home with two other of her family members when the structure collapsed. They were rushed to the hospital, she said.
Isaac Graham, an uncle of Joseph Graham, had told The Baltimore Sun on Monday that his nephew attended a party with one of his best friends and decided to spend the night. He said his nephew was a “good kid” who was studying at Morgan State and recently launched his own clothing line.
Ty’lor Schnella, a friend of Graham’s, told the newspaper that he “was always the one that kept everyone uplifted, kept your spirits high.”
Friends were in disbelief over his death.
“Everyone was like, ‘Not Joseph.’ I would never think something like this could happen to him,” Schnella said.
Morgan State said in a statement that Graham was a rising sophomore pursuing an electrical engineering degree. The university said it mourns “the tragic loss of life as a result of this calamitous event and offer our deepest sympathies to the Graham family.”
Meanwhile, authorities have not identified a woman who was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after Monday morning’s explosion. Seven others were hospitalized, five in critical condition, said Adams, the fire department spokeswoman. The conditions of the other two were still being determined, she said.
More than 200 people in the neighborhood were affected by the blast, and about 30 have utilized temporary shelter since the explosion, she said.
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