Officials say 8 people were hurt in a Chicago apartment building explosion.

Officials say 8 people were hurt in a Chicago apartment building explosion.

CHICAGO, (AP) — Officials say eight people were sent to hospitals after an explosion ripped through the top floor of a Chicago apartment building on Tuesday.

The explosion occurred at 9 a.m. at the 36-unit, four-story apartment complex in the South Austin area, according to officials. Deputy Chief Marc Ferman of the Chicago Fire Agency told reporters a few hours later that the department had finished looking for potential casualties and was "certain" that no one remained trapped within the building, much of which had fallen.

He stated that technical workers had reinforced the higher levels so that firemen could check "to ensure we didn't leave any casualties beneath any of the rubble."

The cause of the explosion was yet to be discovered.

Ferman stated that seven of the injured were in the building on the city's West Side when the explosion happened, and one was presumably in a building across the street. According to the authorities, three of those injured had serious to critical injuries.

According to photos and video provided on the Chicago Fire Department's Twitter feed, much of the top story was damaged. Hundreds of bricks and other pieces of debris had fallen down the street, smashing at least one automobile and severely injuring two more.

Several residents stated that they were at home when the explosion occurred.

Lawrence Lewis, who was sleeping at the time, told WGN news, "I was asleep, then all of a sudden there was a huge booming." "I awoke to see my windows shattered and my front door smashed open." I hurried out of the home as soon as I spotted smoke. I was fast asleep. "I'm shaking right now."

Otis Maning, who lives across the street, told the Chicago Sun-Times he was watching television on his couch when "all of a sudden I hear, 'Boom!'"

"My heart practically jumped out of my chest... "I saw broken windows and garbage," he claimed.

On Tuesday, first responders were called to the site of an explosion at an apartment building in Chicago. (Chicago Fire Department via Twitter)

Yumika Bady, 25, was also at her house across the street when she noticed the blow smashed out the back glass of her parked car.

According to Bady, "it simply made my flat tremble."

The bomb squad of the Chicago Police Department and agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives also reacted to the incident.