Moment gas explosion destroys San Francisco Bay Area home

A gas explosion in the San Francisco Bay Area left six people in hospital and razed at least one home.The blast in the neighbourhood of Hayward triggered a major fire, officials said.Video footage showed a home suddenly explode, throwing debris into the air.“We were sitting in the house and it just... everything shook,” said Brittany Maldonado, who lives across the street.“Stuff fell off the walls and when we looked at the camera, it was like you were watching a war video.”Fire officials said they did not know if those injured were workers or residents, or the extent of their injuries.They said two homes were affected the most, along with another building.The neighbourhood had been recently undergoing construction work for wider paths and bike lanes.Hayward, home to about 160,000 residents, is in the East Bay, 15 miles (24km) south of Oakland.A spokesman with Pacific Gas & Electric Co said a construction crew damaged an underground gas line at around 7.35am.The company said it was not their workers who damaged the line.Utility workers isolated the damaged line and stopped the flow of gas at 9.25am, PG&E said.The doorbell video showed a large excavator being used to dig in front of the home that exploded as a worker stood nearby.After the explosion, people ran towards the home to search for victims.Several workers lifted a large piece of debris from where it landed near the excavator.Sirens could be heard in the distance as police arrived at the scene, while flames began to spread at the site of the demolished building.