Investigators sift through wreckage after a deadly Pennsylvania nursing home explosion

BRISTOL, Pa. (AP) — Construction crews worked to clear the rubble of a Pennsylvania nursing home Wednesday, a day after a powerful explosion killed two people, hospitalized 20 others, sent flames shooting out and collapsed part of the building.

Searchers accounted for everyone who was thought to be missing, Bristol Police Chief Charles Winik said.

Two had been reported dead on Tuesday evening, but responders were still trying to locate others in hospitals or the wreckage of the Bristol Health & Rehab Center that exploded hours earlier.

Nineteen people were still hospitalized, one in critical condition, he said. An investigation into the cause and origin was underway with support from federal agencies, he said.

Authorities did not immediately identify the deceased, but said one was a resident and one was an employee. Both were women, they said.

The blast at the 174-bed nursing home in Bristol Township, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Philadelphia, happened shortly after a utility crew responded to reports of a gas odor at the facility on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. Investigators were examining whether a gas leak caused the explosion, a finding officials cautioned remains preliminary.

On Wednesday, workers were using heavy equipment to clear sections of collapsed roof and walls to help investigators gain better access, Winik said.

Emergency responders from across the region had evacuated residents and dug through debris amid flames, smoke, a strong smell of gas and even a second explosion, officials said.

Fire Chief Kevin Dippolito described a chaotic rescue in which firefighters found people trapped in stairwells and elevator shafts and pulled residents from windows and doors. Two people were rescued from a collapsed section of the building and one was resuscitated at a hospital.

Willie Tye, who lives about a block away, said he was watching a basketball game when he heard a loud boom.

“I thought an airplane or something came and fell on my house,” he said. When he went outside, he saw “fire everywhere” and people fleeing the building.

State records show the facility was cited for multiple violations during its most recent inspection in October by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, including failing to provide accurate floor plans, properly maintain stairways and fire extinguishers on one level. Inspectors also cited the facility for lacking required smoke barrier partitions designed to contain smoke across floors.

Medicare’s overall rating of the facility is listed as “much below average,” with poor ratings for health inspections in particular.

The local gas utility, PECO, said its crews were responding to reports of a gas odor when the explosion occurred. The company said it shut off natural gas and electric service to the facility to protect first responders and nearby residents.

“It is not known at this time if PECO’s equipment, or natural gas, was involved in this incident,” the utility said in a statement.

Investigators from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission went to the scene. A utility commission spokesperson said a determination that a gas leak caused the explosion cannot be confirmed until investigators examine the site.

Musuline Watson, who said she was a certified nursing assistant at the facility, told WPVI-TV that staff smelled gas over the weekend but did not initially suspect a serious problem because there was no heat in that room.

The nursing home recently became affiliated with Saber Healthcare Group and was previously known as Silver Lake Healthcare Center.

Saber called the explosion “devastating” in a statement and said facility personnel promptly reported the gas odor to PECO before the blast. The company said it was cooperating with authorities to ensure the safety of residents, staff and the surrounding community.

Levy and Scolforo reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Associated Press reporters Mingson Lau in Bristol, Pennsylvania; Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire and Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report.

First responders work the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

First responders work at the scene of an explosion and fire at Bristol Health & Rehab Center, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (Monica Herndon/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Investigators work around Bristol Health & Rehab Center and surrounding rubble after a gas explosion the day prior on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (AP Photo/Mingson Lau)

Investigators work around Bristol Health & Rehab Center and surrounding rubble after a gas explosion the day prior on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (AP Photo/Mingson Lau)

A responder navigates around Bristol Health & Rehab Center and surrounding rubble after a gas explosion the day prior on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Bristol, Pa. (AP Photo/Mingson Lau)

An explosion in Moscow on Wednesday killed three people, including two police officers, Russian investigators said, days after a car bomb killed a high-ranking general not far away.

An official from Ukraine’s military intelligence, known as the GUR, told The Associated Press that the attack had been carried out as part of an agency operation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Russian authorities did not comment on who may be behind the attack. Since Moscow invaded nearly four years ago, Russian authorities have blamed Kyiv for several assassinations of military officers and public figures in Russia. Ukraine has claimed responsibility for some of them.

On Wednesday, two traffic police officers were approaching a suspicious individual when a device detonated, Russia's Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement. The officers and another person standing nearby died from their injuries.

The Interior Ministry named the officers as Lt. Ilya Klimanov, 24, who joined the Moscow police in October 2023, and Lt. Maxim Gorbunov, 25. Gorbunov had a wife and a 9-month-old daughter, the statement said.

The blast took place in the same area of the Russian capital where Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov was killed by a car bomb on Monday. Sarvarov was the head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff.

Investigators have said they are looking into whether Ukraine was behind that attack, which was the third such killing of a senior military officer in just over a year. Ukraine has not commented on it.

Ukraine — which is outnumbered by Russia’s larger, better equipped military — has frequently tried to change the course of the war by attacking in unexpected ways.

In August last year, Ukrainian forces staged a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region even as they struggled to stem Russian offensives elsewhere. Moscow’s troops eventually drove them out, but the incursion diverted Russian military resources and raised Ukrainian morale.

In June, swarms of drones launched from trucks targeted bomber bases across Russia.

Moscow has also blamed some assassinations on Ukraine. Just over a year ago, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of the military’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed by a bomb hidden on an electric scooter outside his apartment building. Kirillov’s assistant also died. Ukraine’s security service claimed responsibility for the attack.

In April, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff, was killed by an explosive device placed in his car parked near his apartment building just outside Moscow..

Days after Moskalik’s killing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he received a report from the head of Ukraine’s foreign intelligence agency on the “liquidation” of top Russian military figures, adding that “justice inevitably comes” although he didn’t mention Moskalik’s name.

Meanwhile, Western officials have accused Russia of staging a campaign of disruption and sabotage across Europe as part of an effort to sap support for Ukraine. Moscow has denied the claims.

Associated Press writer Volodymyr Yurchuk contributed to this report from Kyiv, Ukraine.

This undated photo, distributed by official telegram channel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, shows official portraits of Russian police officers Lt. lya Klimanov and Lt. Maxim Gorbunov, who were killed in an explosion in Moscow, on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (Official telegram channel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia via AP)

Police block the road near the scene of a deadly explosion in Moscow, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Police block the road near the scene of a deadly explosion in Moscow, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Police block the road near the scene of a deadly explosion in Moscow, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Police block the road near the scene of a deadly explosion in Moscow, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)