Charlotte explosion: Crews find 1 person in debris after massive home explosion

The victim was “conscious and alert” and has been taken by helicopter to a hospital, fire officials said.

More than 80 firefighters responded to a large home in the Ballantyne neighborhood after a fire prompted an explosion about 2 p.m., the Charlotte Fire Department said.

Footage from the scene shows flames and smoke coming from a pile a massive pile of debris.

At least two other people from a surrounding home suffered non-life threatening injuries, the Mecklenburg EMS Agency said. Firefighters are still searching through the debris for possible additional victims.

A neighbor, Lorie Porter, had gone for a walk around the neighborhood when the explosion took place.

“I put my Beats on, and I walked right by the house. I walked on, maybe two minutes, and through my Beats, I heard a boom!,” Porter told CNN affiliate WSOC. “And there’s debris right where I had walked, and the house was just leveled.”

It’s unclear what caused the explosion.

CNN’s Chris Boyette contributed to this report.