An explosion Thursday in a 12-unit , three - story Ottawa apartment building in a fashionable renovated neighborhood less than a mile from the Canadian Parliament killed a man and injured three people . Rubble , including concrete chunks the size of TVs , was sent flying as much as a full block away and damaged cars and nearby downtown buildings . Police believe the cause was either natural gas or propane . Police smelled smoke immediately after the 11 pm blast . Two hours after the blast , firefighters rescued a middle - aged woman trapped inside her apartment . A dog brought in by police searched for other possible victims .
An explosion Thursday in a 12-unit, three-story Ottawa apartment building in a fashionable renovated area less than a mile from the Canadian Parliament killed a man and injured three people. Rubble, including concrete chunks the size of TVs, was sent flying as much as a full block away and damaged cars and nearby downtown buildings. Police believe the cause was either natural gas or propane. Witnesses smelled gas immediately after the 9:30 AM blast. Two hours after the blast, firefighters rescued a middle-aged woman trapped inside her apartment. A dog brought in by police searched for other possible victims.