Credit: Dan Smith/LevittownNow.com
The Bucks County Coroner’s Office has identified the third victim of the Dec. 23 explosion at the Silver Lake Nursing Home and Bristol Health and Rehab Center.
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Patricia Mero, 66, died Monday morning at St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown Township, according to Bucks County Coroner Patti Campi.
The coroner’s office ruled Mero’s death accidental and attributed it to chest trauma, an autopsy found.
The blast at the Tower Road facility also killed 52-year-old Muthoni Nduthu, a nurse and Bristol Township resident, and an unidentified female resident who died at a Philadelphia hospital.
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Details regarding the unidentified resident remain limited. According to James Garrow, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office, it could take months to release further information on that resident’s death. The city waits for full results to be in first.
The explosion also left at least 20 people injured and displaced dozens of residents, who have since been transferred to other facilities owned by Saber Healthcare.
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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading a multi-agency investigation into the incident, which local officials said was caused by natural gas.
NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson stated before the new year that investigators detected various levels of natural gas in the soil near the facility.
Because the NTSB maintains jurisdiction over pipelines, it is spearheading the probe with assistance from several agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, and local fire and police departments
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According to the NTSB, the ongoing investigation is focused on the pipeline system, operator training and human factors, and the general operating environment.
