Authorities raced to the scene at a Newark Housing Authority property in Newark, New Jersey, shortly after 6pm on Friday.

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Witnesses told CBS News the building exploded, with parts of the wreckage hurled 600 feet away.

Residents inside were said to have been knocked off their feet, with doors obliterated from their hinges and walls ripped to shreds.

“I just heard boom, and all I saw from the side was glass flying, windows and everything,” nearby resident Sylvia Murdaugh told CBS News.

Another witness said her daughter was inside her apartment on the first floor at the time.

“The explosion, it knocked her off her feet, so she was down on the ground, and the neighbors next door, they were taken to the hospital, as well,” she said.

“The doors are blown off… The air conditioners are hanging out the window and the doors are just blown off.”

Photos show a tragic trail of destruction outside, where the now roofless building lies stripped to its bare shell.

Household items can be seen strewn in the wreck, including a chest of drawers and toilet roll a haunting show of the damage.

Newark Public Safety director Newark Public Director Fritz Fragé said firefighters responded to a report of a building collapse.

He confirmed at least five people were taken to local hospitals, including one victim who suffered serious burns.

That person is said to be in a critical condition.

“We can’t elaborate on the cause of the explosion,” Fragé told local news outlet TapIntoNewark.

“Firefighters are on scene right now extinguishing the fire. There will be an investigation shortly.”

He confirmed the City of Newark was going to help residents from the building by providing them a residential stay “for the next few nights.”

The cause of the collapse has not yet been confirmed.

A number of emergency workers are at the scene while they work to establish the extent of the damage.

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