In an update to our earlier reports, a broken gas line is to blame for an explosion and fire in Atlantic late Wednesday night that has now claimed the lives of two people. Firefighters were called to 604 Olive Street (Denise’s Taxi Service) at around 10:08-p.m.  When crews arrived on the scene they knew they had victims trapped. A female victim was found upstairs. The woman was unresponsive and underwent CPR before being transported to the hospital in Atlantic and later flown to a trauma center in Omaha. A male victim was found deceased in the second floor bathroom. KETV in Omaha reports the female had died from her injuries at Nebraska Medicine. Both victims were said to be in their 60’s. No names were released as of mid-day, Thursday.

Atlantic Fire Chief Mark McNees said neighbors told him they heard a loud “boom” prior to noticing the flames.  Investigators with the state Fire Marshal’s Office used that information and spent the night combing through the home trying to determine the cause.

He says they discovered a natural gas pipe in the basement broke due to the weight of clothes on hangers being hung on the pipe. The ignition source of the explosion is not known, but since a kitchen stove on the first floor is directly above the pipe in the basement, it’s believed the stove may have sparked the explosion.