St. Louis County is investigating the cause of an explosion that shook north county this morning, destroyed five homes and damaged others and sent several people to the hospital.

Around 9:15 a.m., Florissant fire crews responded to reports of a three-alarm fire and multi-house explosion on the 3700 block of Candlewyck Drive and 3900 block of Belcroft in Black Jack. There were reports of people trapped in the rubble, and responding firefighters conducting search and rescue found three victims, who were taken to area hospitals.

Around noon, the Black Jack Fire Protection District said several patients had been transported to the Mercy burn unit. No fatalities had been reported as of Monday afternoon.

There’s widespread damage to homes and condominiums surrounding the blast, and residents

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