Mystery Boom Shakes Northeast Philly

It's unclear exactly what happened but people sure felt it

The beginning of Memorial Day Weekend reportedly came with a loud bang in Northeast Philadelphia Friday night.

"It was just a shake.. no one knows what it is," said witness Scott Ellison.

People all over the Northeast and in nearby places like Bensalem, Pa. were reporting having heard an explosion or boom in the area of Knights and Fairdale Road around 9:35 p.m., according to the Philadelphia Fire Department.

Some witnesses even claimed to feel their houses shake.

"The house vibrated several times," said witness Phil Steinman.

As of midnight there were no apparent damage or signs of an explosion. 

Authorities reportedly contacted the U.S. Geological Survey to see if this could have possibly been an earthquake. A sonic boom was also being considered as a possible cause.

If it was a quake it wouldn't be the first one to hit the area this month. A magnitude 1.9 quake was reported by the USGS near Mount Holly, N.J. around 4:20 a.m. on May 10.

Chopper 10 caught dozens of emergency vehicles rushing towards and in the area of the scene -- near the Franklin Mills Mall -- but there were no visible signs of any explosion despite the reports.

The exact spot where the boom occurred wasn't clear, officials said.

Earlier this year 19-year-old PGW worker Mark Keeley was killed after a massive gas explosion in the Tacony section of Northeast Philly. There are no signs as of now of this most recent event being gas related.

As of 11 p.m. PGW had found no leaks, officials said. And PECO had no reports of power outages in the area.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Keep checking back here for details.


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