Apartment fire kills 2 despite 'very heroic' rescue efforts

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) — Two people died, dozens were injured and others were unaccounted for after a massive explosion and fire at an apartment complex outside the nation's capital, authorities said today.

Among those injured were three firefighters, treated and released after a large-scale rescue effort in which some people dropped children off balconies in the garden-style apartment to safety below.

The two people found dead in the debris of the four-story building have not yet been identified. Montgomery County Police Assistant Chief Russ Hamill said at a news conference the explosion's cause remains under investigation. Residents reported smelling gas before the explosion, and officials responded to calls for a potential gas leak at the complex last month.

In all, 34 people, including the three firefighters, were taken to hospitals for treatment. Hospital officials said most were released later today.

People more than a mile away reported feeling their homes shake in the blast just before midnight Wednesday night in a working-class neighborhood two miles from the District of Columbia border.

Nine hours later, firefighters on a ladder truck were still hosing down the last of the fire, and smoke still was rising from the building.

Blast debris was scattered nearly 200 feet, including what appeared to be an apartment door blown all the way across a two-lane road and parking lot. Brightly colored bras hung from a tree in front of the apartments, apparently from a dresser drawer launched into the air after the explosion.