Chino Hills house explosion caused by gas leak, fire officials say

CHINO HILLS, Calif. (KABC) -- A massive explosion that injured eight people at a Chino Hills home, including children, was caused by a gas leak, officials said Tuesday.

The official cause of the blast was determined by the Chino Valley Fire District investigator, according to a press release. The source of the leak remained under investigation.

Emergency crews responded around 3:45 p.m. Sunday following the explosion in the suburban neighborhood.

"Firefighters found major damage to the reported house and minor damage to surrounding homes," the Chino Valley Fire District said in a statement. Video from AIR7 showed the house reduced to a pile of rubble.

Four people from the destroyed home were transported to a hospital, and four others brought themselves, the fire district said. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department none of their injuries were life-threatening.

Witnesses told ABC7 that they saw people running from the explosion, including children crying for help.

According to a GoFundMe page set up for the Sotelo Family, they had arrived home when one of the children turned on a lamp, and the home exploded.

"My son and I were cooking, and all of the sudden, the house just shook, just really hard," neighbor Monica Kelly said. "And I told my son, 'That was an earthquake,' and he said, 'No, mom. Something exploded.'"

"Their hair was burnt, they had blood on their faces," a witness said of the victims, some of them children.

Fire officials said the gas leak had been stopped by late Sunday. Sixteen surrounding homes were briefly evacuated.

The Southern California Gas Company was working "to assess any damage to natural gas infrastructure and make related conditions safe to ensure the safety of the neighborhood and first responders," utility spokesperson Aaron Ortiz said in a Monday statement.