Authorities pulled a body Wednesday from the wreckage of a landmark restaurant in Kansas City, Mo., where a natural gas explosion caused a spectacular fire.

At least 14 people were injured Tuesday night when a blaze tore through JJ’s Restaurant, part of an upscale business and shopping district. Searchers with cadaver dogs had sifted through the rubble for hours overnight looking for the lone person missing, a woman who worked at the restaurant.

The cause of the gas explosion remained under investigation. A statement released by Missouri Gas Energy said early indications were that a contractor doing underground work struck a natural gas line.

More than 100 firefighters responded to the 6 p.m. blast at JJ’s Restaurant in Country Club Plaza, an upscale business and shopping district of Kansas City. Flames shot up through the night sky, destroying the renowned Midwest dining spot as firefighters worked in below-freezing temperatures. The fire was largely under control a couple of hours later.

“JJ’s Restaurant is totally gone,” Kansas City Fire Department Chief Paul Berardi said. 

David Frantzè, the restaurant owner's brother, said the loss of the beloved eatery is a major blow to the city.

"My brother just spent 27 years of his life running this business. He's built it into one of the fine restaurants in Kansas City," Frantzè said. "To come down here and to see a hole in the ground in flames is a pretty staggering experience."

Nearby residences and apartments suffered damage after the explosion and blaze, authorities said, including a building adjacent to the restaurant with a collapsed wall.

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Crews work near the smoldering remains at the scene of an explosion in Kansas City, Mo., on Feb. 20.

“There will be scattered damage throughout the immediate vicinity of the incident,” James said.

It was at first thought that two people might be missing in the blaze, but authorities said that one of those people was located at St. Luke’s Hospital around midnight. 

With a major winter storm approaching, rescuers moved in heavy construction equipment on Wednesday to lift fallen debris, which was three to four feet thick over the floor of the destroyed eatery, Berardi said.

Witnesses told NBC station KSHB that they smelled natural gas in the area of the restaurant at least an hour before the explosion. 

“KCFD are on the scene and will conduct a thorough investigation of what caused the explosion,” Berardi said. “We will continue to bring out the dogs and clear that scene and then an investigation will occur.”

JJ’s has been in business since 1985, and was widely regarded as a premier city dining location, earning a 93 rating from Zagat’s. The restaurant’s wine cellar had been listed by The Wine Spectator as among the finest in the world.

This story was originally published on Wed Feb 20, 2013 8:40 AM EST

One man was killed and two others were critically injured after an apparent propane explosion at a home in Connecticut Wednesday.

Police said the homeowner, John Wilkinson, 46, called his friend, Anthony Fratino, 47, to help fix a propane leak in the water heater in the basement of his home in New Milford, Conn.

The explosion happened around 6:40 p.m., according to reports.

Fratino was killed instantly, officials said. Wilkinson and Fratino's 9-year-old son, Nicholas, who was at the home at the time, were rushed to Danbury Hospital in Danbury Conn., with severe lacerations and burns.

Nicholas, police said, will soon be transported to a hospital in Boston, more than 150 miles away.

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Wilkinson is being treated at the burn unit of Bridgeport Hospital, in Bridgeport, Conn.

Wilkinson’s wife, Alice, and their two kids reportedly left the home shortly before the explosion and were at a neighbor’s house. Police investigators said Wilkinson had told his family to leave the house when he smelled propane. It was not clear where the family is staying now.

Bits of rubble were scattered over a wide area where the two-story farmhouse had stood. All that is left of the Wilkinson family home now is the chimney, NBCConnecticut.com reported.

“It’s just an incredible site; there’s nothing left of the house,” New Milford Police Department Spokesperson Lt. Lawrence Ash told The News-Times in Danbury. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

After the blast, police and fire crews searched the rubble for any remaining victims. While they determined no one else was at the house at the time it was leveled, Ash said police still plan to use a cadaver dog to make sure there were no human remains at the site.

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Police ordered onlookers away from the scene because they feared asbestos particles from the house may be in the air, Ash said.

Some New Milford residents say they heard the explosion from miles away.

“It shook my entire house,” another neighbor, Patricia Bailey told NBCConnecticut.com. “I had no idea what that was.”

“I thought a plane or car ran into our house,” Eric Bailey, who lives near the ruined house, told The News-Times. “The entire house just – boom, shook.” 

Officials advise anyone who smells a gas leak in their house, workplace, or around any gas equipment or appliance to leave the area immediately and call a trained propane service person and the fire department. 

New Milford is in western Connecticut close to the New York state border.

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