Manhole cover blown out of Somerville street in explosion, lands in roof of triple

By WBZ-News Staff

Updated on: May 11, 2023 / 6:20 PM / CBS Boston

SOMERVILLE - A manhole cover ended up impaled in the roof a triple-decker home after an explosion in Somerville Thursday.

The fire department said there was an "underground explosion in an electrical manhole" around 4 a.m. at the intersection of Cross Street and McGrath Highway.

"Everybody got scared at four in the morning, everybody home, nobody got hurt," said Jose Darosa, the building's owner.

The force of the explosion was so large it blew the steel manhole cover up over the house on Cross Street and then back down where it pierced the roof. Several windows were shattered by the impact and the street was damaged. Power was also knocked out in the neighborhood.

"You see the windows broken, everything, pictures fall down," said Marcos Albes, who lives in the building. "I say thanks God because the building you fix, but the body, you can't fix. Everybody else is OK and I say thanks God because we're still alive."

No one was hurt and there was no structural damage to the home.

"The exact cause of the explosion is not known at this time," Somerville Fire chief engineer Charles Breen Jr. said in a statement to WBZ-TV.

The WBZ News team is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on WBZ.com.

First published on May 11, 2023 / 12:50 PM

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