UPDATE: Police: ID's of the Victims Killed in Explosion to be Released Friday

Updated at 5:50 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, 2015: Hasting Police Chief Anthony Visalli told Patch that the victims’ next of kin were still being notified, and the department was not going to release additional information until Friday.

“No further info at this time,” said Visalli in an email. “We are waiting for reports from various agencies and will issue a press release tomorrow. Victim’s identities not being released until families have been notified.”

The exact cause of the explosion has not been disclosed. The tank was being removed from behind the multi-family home owned by Django Morrison, who told WNBC-TV that he had been outside with the workers just moments before the explosion. The blast blew the tank about 75 feet into the air, according to reports.

“They had just unburied it and were getting the excavator here, and the guy who was running it asked him to cut it open so they could clean it out and I decided at that point I was going inside because I didn’t want to be around if anything went wrong,” Morrison said. “And 30 seconds later, there was a huge explosion.”

Updated at 1:10 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, 2015: The contractors working at home where the fuel tank was cut into were from Three D Industrial Maintenance of Hawthorne, reports The Journal News.

The company was removing an old, underground tank from the rear of the home when it exploded. The tank landed more than 100 feet away from where it was excavated.

Original story: An explosion at a home on Hillside Avenue in Hastings-on-Hudson has killed two people, according to Kempter’s Fire Wire.

Details of the explosion were not immediately available, but according to Kempter’s, contractors working at the home cut into a fuel tank, which caused the explosion.

Emergency responders were still detecting gas vapors in the area just after noon.

Personnel at the Hastings Fire Department said they could not yet discuss the situation because crews were still on the scene.

Hastings school officials notified parents Thursday morning about the explosion, which occurred at the corner of Hillside and School Streets. No students or staff were injured.

“We will be keeping everyone inside while the situation is handled by local responders,” officials wrote.

Photo credit: Kempter’s Fire Wire