South Boston

South Boston Manhole Explosion Leaves Residents Without Power

A manhole explosion on Dorchester Avenue in South Boston sent flames shooting up from the ground

NBC Universal, Inc.

A manhole explosion Wednesday night in South Boston led to power outages in the area.

The incident happened shortly before 9 p.m. near the intersection of Dorchester Avenue and Father Songin Way. No injuries have been reported.

About 200 customers near the scene of the explosion were without power late Wednesday night, and 170 still had no electricity as of 6:30 a.m. Thursday. Eversource says it is working to get the lights back on.

Neighbors said they saw flames shooting up from the ground and smelled chemicals in the air.

"It sounded like a bomb went off. Came outside, neighbors were here. They had said they called 911 cause they saw smoke coming out of the manhole, and then they said a huge burst of flames came out and exploded," said Janice Connolly. "Now there's a giant, gaping hole in the street. Very scary."

"We saw a huge flash of light, and when we looked, the manhole was on fire and it had exploded," recalled Zoe Seitz.

Contact Us