Video captured the frightening moment a suburban Chicago home suddenly exploded, killing one person inside and sending debris flying and children playing basketball outside racing for help.
The footage was captured by security cameras at a neighboring home in unincorporated Lake Zurich. In the video, two children can be seen playing basketball in a driveway when flames shoot out from a home in the 23500 block of North Overhill Road. The children run for help as neighbors leave their homes to see what happened.
"Call 911," one person can be heard shouting.
Ulises Hernandez, whose cameras captured the footage, said he was watching television in his house with his wife when the explosion happened.
"We heard loud boom and it shook the house. We panicked. We knew the kids were outside," he told NBC Chicago. "Check the back to see [if] they were in the trampoline, they weren’t there. So immediately I ran out. I heard my wife screaming call 911."
Hernandez's son Emanuel was one of the children seen playing basketball at the time of the blast.
"A big rush of fear, scary situation. I didn’t think I’d ever see that," he said.
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The deadly explosion happened around 8:30 p.m., according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
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Firefighters and first responders were called to the scene for a report of an explosion and arrived to find "a home completely leveled," the sheriff's office said.
The homeowner, a 77-year-old man, was unaccounted for after the explosion, but officials said Wednesday morning the body of an adult man had been recovered from the debris.
Neighbors said the homeowner often kept to himself but was a pleasant neighbor in their tight-knit community.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear.
