UPDATE: Gas leak reported before blast leveled restaurant - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

UPDATE: Gas leak reported before blast leveled restaurant

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - As a winter storm rapidly approaches, crews are rushing to finish the search for more possible victims of Tuesday night's natural gas explosion at a popular Kansas City restaurant.


Investigators are combing through the rubble and still trying to understand how the blast that leveled JJ's restaurant happened -- despite suspicions that flammable fuel had been leaking, maybe for weeks, somewhere in the busy outdoor shopping area.

Hours before the explosion, witnesses reported a strong smell of gas, and firefighters were summoned to the scene at one point but left without ordering an evacuation.

One body has been recovered, and Mayor Sly James worries the debris could be concealing other victims.

The mother of a missing restaurant server says her family is awaiting confirmation that the remains were those of her daughter.

More than an hour before the blast, authorities say a subcontractor working for a cable company hit a gas line with underground boring equipment. Then something inside the restaurant ignited the fuel.

Fifteen people were injured. Six remain hospitalized.