‘I thought they died’: Father emotional after daughter, girlfriend injured in Massachusetts explosion
By Peter Eliopoulos & Imani Clement
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TAUNTON, Massachusetts (WCVB) — A woman and her 2-year-old daughter are in the hospital recovering after they were severely burned in a home explosion in Taunton, Massachusetts.
Lucitha Blanc, 24, and her 2-year-old daughter Janelle were at their Plain Street home making breakfast Wednesday morning when the house suddenly exploded, bursting into flames.
Taunton house explosion victims (1)Woman, 2-year-old girl recovering after Taunton, Massachusetts, home explosion The boyfriend of Blanc, and Janelle’s father, Shnider Germilus, said he was at work, but was on the phone with his family, when he heard the explosion.
“When she turned the stove on, all I heard was a big boom, and my daughter, she was screaming and crying, screaming,” Germilus said. “I had seen the video of our house on fire, so I thought they had died. I got scared, you know.”
Germilus told NewsCenter 5 that he later went to see his family in the hospital immediately after.
“I went to see my daughter, and when I saw her, she was all burned up. The first thing she said was ‘Hi, dada.’ She’s so strong.”
Video: Police body cam footage shows aftermath of Taunton house explosion
Authorities said the explosion was the result of a natural gas leak.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support the family.
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