Third Body Found After Silver Spring Apartment Explosion

SILVER SPRING, Md. (WJZ) -- Many people remain missing following a deadly explosion at a Silver Spring apartment complex but authorities said Friday it's likely they will find more bodies in the rubble.

More than 100 residents have been accounted for in the wake of the explosion, which rocked the apartment building Wednesday night, killing three people and injuring dozens of others.

Since then, investigators have been sifting through the charred remains in search of answers and victims. As WJZ's Tracey Leong reports, at a news briefing Friday, police said they expect the death toll to rise.

"A number of people are still within the remains of the buildings on Arliss Street," said Montgomery Police Department Assistant Chief Russell Campbell.

Two bodies were found on Thursday. On Friday afternoon, investigators found a third body within the building. So far, those killed have not been identified.

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Federal investigators have been called to to determine whether the cause was accidental or not. Special Agent Jeffrey Mathews with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it's possible the blast could have been incendiary in nature.

Detectives, meanwhile, are looking into reports that people inside the apartment building complained about the smell of gas and called 911 to report the odor weeks before Wednesday's devastating explosion.

Hampering efforts to get to the bottom of what happened is the incinerated building that remains, which authorities have said is unstable.

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Nevertheless, neighbors and loved ones have been on site doing what they can to help those affected by the blast recover from it.

"This is our neighborhood still," said Noella Gutierrez. "Doesn't matter if we moved out, people are in need and that's what matters to us."

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