Multiple gas explosions in Boston kill 1

Leonel Rondon, 18, was inside a car in Lawrence, Massachusetts, when a chimney fell on the vehicle, Carrie Kimball-Monahan, a spokeswoman with the Essex County District Attorney's office told CNN. 

State and local emergency workers went to the spot to douse the flame.

At least six people were injured, two critically, according to Lawrence General Hospital, The Boston Globe reported.

A spokeswoman for the state fire marshal’s office told the newspaper on Thursday evening that investigators are focusing on overpressurization of a gas main owned by Columbia Gas, which serves about 50,000 customers in and around Lawrence and had been upgrading its equipment in the area.

The  Massachusetts State Police tweeted: "Residents in the affected towns of Lawrence/North Andover/Andover who have gas service from Columbia Gas should evacuate their homes immediately if they have not already done so. Gas lines are currently being depressurized by the company it will take some time."

The police said joint investigation will be conducted when situation is stabilized.

The police said: " MSP Fusion Center has current updated tally of responses to fires/explosions/investigations of gas odor at 70. Spread over wide swath of south #Lawrence and northern part of #NorthAndover with several others across Merrimack River in north Lawrence." 

Officials at Columbia Gas, which provides natural gas to most residents in the region,   said in a statement: "Columbia Gas crews are currently responding to reports of multiple fires in Lawrence. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by today’s incident. The first priority for our crews at the scene is to ensure the safety of our customers and the community by supporting first responders and completing safety checks on our system and in the surrounding area.
We appreciate the response of local emergency responders and their coordination with our teams."

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