South Boston

South Boston Manhole Explosion Leaves Residents Without Power

A manhole explosion on Dorchester Avenue in South Boston sent flames shooting up from the ground

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A manhole explosion Wednesday night in South Boston led to power outages in the area.

The incident happened shortly before 9 p.m. near the intersection of Dorchester Avenue and Father Songin Way. No injuries have been reported.

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About 200 customers near the scene of the explosion were without power late Wednesday night, and 170 still had no electricity as of 6:30 a.m. Thursday. Eversource says it is working to get the lights back on.

Neighbors said they saw flames shooting up from the ground and smelled chemicals in the air.

"It sounded like a bomb went off. Came outside, neighbors were here. They had said they called 911 cause they saw smoke coming out of the manhole, and then they said a huge burst of flames came out and exploded," said Janice Connolly. "Now there's a giant, gaping hole in the street. Very scary."

"We saw a huge flash of light, and when we looked, the manhole was on fire and it had exploded," recalled Zoe Seitz.

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