6 of 7 victims of Flower Branch Apartments explosion identified

Montgomery County Police yesterday released the latest list of victims who perished in the Flower Branch Apartments explosion in Long Branch. Only one victim is yet to be identified by authorities.

The six deceased victims are Maria Auxiliadorai Castellon-Martinez, age 53; Augusto Jimenez Sr., age 62; Saul Paniagua, age 65;  Deibi “David” Samir Lainez Morales, age 8; Fernando Josue Hernandez Orellana, age 3 and Aseged Mekonen, age 34.

Seventh deceased victim found in rubble at Flower Branch explosion site in Silver Spring

More tragic news from the site of the horrific August 10 explosion and fire at the Flower Branch Apartments in Silver Spring: a seventh deceased victim was found inside the collapsed building on Tuesday. Montgomery County Police have not yet made public the names of the victims. The fact that seven residents were known to be missing after the explosion suggests the recovery operation may be nearing its end. However, the search continues today, to ensure that any unknown victims are found.

The investigation continues, as well. Federal authorities may have a preliminary conclusion about the explosion's cause before the week ends. Therapy dogs have been brought in from Frederick County to help residents traumatized by the tragedy, the Frederick News-Post reported late last night.

Flower Branch Apartments explosion death toll rises to six in Silver Spring

Search teams located the remains of a sixth victim in the rubble at the Flower Branch Apartments in Silver Spring yesterday. The deceased victim was found at the apartment complex in the 8700 block of Arliss Street in the Long Branch area. All six perished in the August 10 explosion, fire and resulting building collapse at the complex.

None of the six dead have been publicly identified, but Montgomery County Police have said they are among the eight missing people they identified a few days ago. That list dropped to seven missing yesterday, when - in a rare positive development since the explosion - police confirmed that Oscar Armando Ochoa is alive and well. Ochoa had recently moved out of the Flower Branch Apartments, but his name was not removed from the roster of tenants for unknown reasons.

Washington Gas completed an inspection of its infrastructure at the site Monday. One other intriguing development yesterday was the sudden arrival onsite of federal inspectors from the National Surface Transportation Safety Board's Pipeline Division.

WUSA9 reported yesterday that the apartment complex had over 1600 code violations in two Montgomery County inspections prior to 2014.

Flower Branch Apartments explosion death toll now at 5 in Silver Spring

The terrible news just gets worse at the Flower Branch Apartments in Silver Spring, where the death toll from a horrific explosion late last Wednesday night now stands at five. Recovery teams located the fifth deceased victim yesterday afternoon. 

Montgomery County Police investigators have not identified the five victims as of this writing, but have released a list of those confirmed missing. They include: Saeda Ibrahim, age 41; Augusto Jimenez Sr., age 62; Maria Auxiliadorai Castellon-Martinez, age 53; Aseged Mekonen, age 34; Deibi “David” Samir Lainez Morales, age 8; Oscar Armando Ochoa, age 55; Fernando Josue Hernandez Orellana, age 3; and Saul Paniagua, age 65.

The ongoing search and investigation now includes MCPD, the Department of Fire and Rescue Service, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.