Fire and incendiary experts investigating the Minneapolis explosion early this morning are still stumped as to its cause:
The massive blast quickly resulted in a three-alarm blaze which then all but totaled a three-storey apartment building close to the university.
Putting that fire out was additionally hampered by the intensity of 20-foot flames and sub-zero temperatures.
Over a dozen victims of the Minneapolis explosion have now been hospitalized, police say, with nearly half of those people being treated for critical injuries.
Firetrucks and cop cruisers arrived shortly after the initial explosion to find a number of frantic residents jumping from the engulfed building's upper windows.
No fatalities have been reported yet, but a spokesperson for fire-and-rescue warned that not all the occupants of the commercial building have been accounted for yet.
At the time this story went to press, the suspicious Minnesota conflagration has been brought under control. However, inspectors say the top floors collapsed and the entire site is too unstable to conduct a search for remains.
City records indicate there were ten rental units in the heavily damaged structure. All but one had tenants in them.
This story is developing; bookmark for updates.
