Kentucky 'gas explosion'- Huge fireball and 'mushroom cloud' over Danville

A possible gas explosion blew open doors and sent debris raining down as a huge fireball and mushroom-like cloud filled the night sky. One resident thought a nuclear bomb had gone off after seeing the giant cloud billowing into the air near the US city of Danville, Kentucky. A number of homes have reportedly been evacuated. Locals suspected a gas line had ruptured, causing a giant explosion that shook homes, appeared on weather radar and was heard for miles around at about 1.30am local time on Thursday. One woman told on social media how the blast close to her house in Junction City sounded like a plane crashing. Did you witness the incident? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk. She wrote on Facebook: "It blew open out doors in our house and there is debris falling from the sky. "It sounded like a plane crashed when it first happened." People living far from the blast site said they could hear the "roar" of the fire and feel the heat. Local resident Anthony Wireman, who snapped photos of the orange glow of the fire and the huge cloud, told Mirror Online he could smell smoke at his house five to six miles from the scene. He tweeted: "There is the biggest fire I’ve ever seen in Danville right now. "I have no idea what it happening but I’m miles away and it’s massive." He added: "It’s getting bigger and brighter. I’m miles away and people are just out in the streets staring at it. "Hearing many emergency sirens." People thought a bomb had gone off, with one man tweeting: "I deadass thought Danville got bombed." Another wrote: "I done thought our butts were gettin rocked by some nukes." Denise Edwards told Mirror Online: "There’s a bright glow in the sky and a low constant rumbling can be heard. I live two counties away from there. It woke my husband." People living in multiple counties told how they were woken up by the sound of the explosion. Photos posted on Facebook and Twitter showed the glow of the flames and the massive cloud from up to six miles away. A number of homes have been evacuated, local TV station WKYT reported. The fire was so big that it was showing up on weather radar, said the TV station's chief meteorologist Chris Bailey. Emergency services rushed to the scene at about 1.30am. The cause of the blast has not yet been revealed by officials.