Waukegan mall explosion

Nine people were injured and one may be unaccounted for in the rubble Thursday afternoon after an explosion blew out three adjacent stores in a business district in north suburban Waukegan at Grand and Lewis Avenues, authorities said.

The explosion occurred shortly after noon in the shopping plaza in the 1900 block of Grand Avenue, authorities said.

Four businesses in total were damaged in the blast, including a cell phone store, tuxedo shop and a hair salon. Initial reports indicate officials may believe the explosion originated in a hair salon in the building. “We felt like an earthquake, like somebody had hit the building with a car,” one witness said, according to the Northwest Herald.

Natural gas crews are on the scene and authorities believe a has leak might have prompted the blast, though no witnesses so far have indicated they smelled gas in the area, according to CNN. "It appears to be a gas explosion at this time," said Waukegan Police Chief Bill Biang.