A New York grandmother and her two young grandchildren had a brush with disaster over the weekend when a manhole suddenly exploded just seconds after they walked over it — an incident that was captured on dramatic video.
Lisa Davis was walking down a sidewalk in Poughkeepsie with her grandchildren following an Easter egg hunt on Saturday when the unthinkable happened. The group had just passed over a manhole cover when it erupted in a blast that sent concrete and debris flying into the air.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know,’” Davis told ABC News, recalling the moment. “I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know what to do except grab my grandson and run.”
Surveillance footage shows Davis pushing a stroller while holding the hand of a small child. Moments after they pass over the manhole, it explodes violently behind them.
The Poughkeepsie Fire Department confirmed that multiple manholes exploded in the area, including one at the corner of Academy and Church Streets, narrowly missing three pedestrians. Fire crews detected high levels of carbon monoxide in several nearby buildings, prompting emergency evacuations while crews worked to reduce the gas levels.
A spokesperson for Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. told Mid Hudson News that the explosion was caused by an electrical fault in an underground cable, and not related to the natural gas distribution system.
“While manhole events caused by electrical faults are not uncommon, they still pose serious risks,” the spokesperson said. “Fortunately, we’ve been informed that no one was injured in this incident.”
The frightening close call is now under investigation as authorities work to determine the full extent of the damage and prevent similar events in the future.
