Detroit apartment explosion hospitalizes 13 as officials investigate cause

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Officials are picking up the pieces after a massive explosion left a Detroit apartment as a shell of its former self Monday morning.

The blast is still under investigation and three people remain in critical condition.

What we know:

Thirteen people were hospitalized after an explosion at a Detroit apartment on Monday morning. 

The occupied building at Littlefield near Schoolcraft on the city's west side was left with severe damage following a blast around 4 a.m.

As of late Monday, three people remain in critical condition, including a 3-year-old at Children's Hospital and a 28-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man at Detroit Receiving.

Some residents needed rescuing from the second floor of the building.

What we don't know:

More than half-a-day later, the cause of the explosion is unknown.

The Detroit Fire Department is investigating the incident.

What they're saying:

Among those who saw the fallout from the blast was Dianne Coppledge.

The neighbor poked her head out of her home, helping someone who had fled the building. 

"I was laying in bed and all of a sudden ‘Boom!’" she said.

The dramatic wake-up call included seeing the building in flames. Coppledge was among the first to phone emergency responders.

"I see this thing as people are still starting to come around and come out of there and I'm trying to get 911," she said.

Deandre McNeil is among the residents who now has to find a new place to live.

"Put my trust and my faith in God, man, that’s all I really can do from this point," he said.

Dig deeper:

Separate from the response, the incident included an errant notification that the Detroit Fire Department.

The agency accidentally sent an alert to people across metro Detroit warning them about a "possible explosion."

It was intended only for people living in the zip code near the explosion, DFD told FOX 2.