House Explosion Heard For Miles Across Philly Region

A loud boom from a house explosion along the Main Line caused a panic across the region Sunday night, leaving people from Doylestown to Delran, N.J. wondering what exactly caused the noise.

The explosion happened just after 8 p.m., and reverberated for miles. People as far north as Gardenville, Bucks County reported hearing the explosion. It went across the Delaware River, with people in many South Jersey towns, including Delran, Mount Laurel and Marlton, reporting the noise.

Residents said it shook homes, broke windows, and in some cases sounded like fireworks or a car backfiring.

Police in Lower Merion Township confirmed the explosion along the 600 block of Dodds Lane in the Gladwyne section of the township. It was caused by a gas leak, and destroyed a 8,000 square-foot home that was under construction at the time, authorities said.

No injuries were reported, and no one was in the home at the time of the explosion.

A CBS3 reporter took this photo from the scene:

Meanwhile, the situation left thousands wondering how they could have possibly heard the sound so far away. People took to Twitter to share their stories and locations at the time of the explosion.

One area resident said it was so strong it broke a window. He shared the following photo on Twitter:

Main image of the home prior to the explosion, via Google