2 people have been killed in an explosion at a Houston manufacturer that shook the city and damaged homes

Two people have died as a result of Friday morning's explosion at a Houston manufacturing business, city Police Chief Art Acevedo said.

A criminal investigation into the blast's cause is underway, he said.

"We have no evidence at this point … that an intentional act is involved. Having said that, part of our protocol is always to (start) a criminal investigation" in such a case, Acevedo said.

"It's going to take days, if not weeks or months, to get a final determination of what's going on here."

People who are within a mile of the blast site should look for debris – including body parts – and report it to authorities if they see something, Acevedo said.

"Please search your homes, and if you can, take a look at your roof," Acevedo said.

An explosion at a northwest Houston manufacturing business Friday shook the city for miles, sending at least one person to a hospital, damaging homes up to a half-mile away and jolting people from their sleep.

At least one person is unaccounted for after the blast at Watson Grinding and Manufacturing, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said.

The blast happened around 4:15 a.m. local time (5:15 a.m. ET) at 4525 Gessner Road, about an 18-mile drive northwest of downtown, officials said.

A fireball rose from the scene after the blast, video posted to Twitter appears to show. The distant footage was taken by a camera mounted to a home window.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/24/us/texas-houston-explosion/index.html