Manhole Cover Explosion Knocks Out Power

A manhole cover blew off this morning as dozens of area buildings lost power and a school closed.

The underground blast shock the 3100 block of Orthodox street in the Birdesburg section of Philadelphia around 10:45 a.m. sending smoke into the air.

The blast happened in front of Cablenet Services Unlimited. An employee at the company said it sounded like a subway going underground and they he saw the manhole cover come off.

No injuries were reported.

Nearby Franklin Towne Charter Elementary School on the 4200 block of Richmond Street had to close at 11:30 a.m. because it had no power.

On its website, PECO showed more 1,700 outages in the northern region. PECO said that by 11:35 a.m. all the underground cables were repaired and power was back on in the neighborhood.

Crews remained on the scene to figure out what caused the blast.

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