At least three people are dead, including a child, and five others were injured on May 28 after a gas explosion caused a massive blaze at a Dallas apartment complex, fire officials said.At around 12:47 p.m. local time, authorities received a 911 call reporting a gas leak at an apartment complex in the Oak Cliff neighborhood, according to Dallas Fire Rescue Assistant Chief James Russ. Fire crews arrived at the scene within two minutes and deemed the incident a two-alarm fire.But as the incident continued to escalate, Russ said it was upgraded into a five-alarm fire. During a brief news conference in the afternoon, Russ noted that the fire had been contained and crews were at the scene searching for victims."We responded to a gas leak, reported gas leak," Dallas Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Mark Berry said during an evening news conference. "Our first responders, while they were en route to that gas leak, a subsequent explosion occurred."In an update shortly after 8 p.m. local time, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesperson Jason Evans said two women and a child were killed in the incident. He added that three people were transported to local hospitals, including one person in critical condition, and two people had self-transported to the hospital with "minor, non-life-threatening issues."Evans noted that fire crews were still in the recovery phase of the operation and were working on excavating the scene. Emergency personnel were also "using hand tools and their hands to actively dig through the debris to make sure that there are no additional victims," he said.Video and photos from the scene showed a large plume of black smoke rising into the sky as the massive fire consumed the apartment complex. Dallas Fire-Rescue also shared photos that showed crews hosing down the charred remains of the complex, where debris and burned wood littered the scene.City officials noted that the investigation into the incident remains ongoing.Dallas Fire-Rescue: 'We have gone from rescue mode to recovery mode'The Dallas Morning News reported that more than 40 Dallas Fire-Rescue units and 100 firefighters were dispatched to the 911 call reporting the gas leak. By around 5 p.m. local time, over 20 fire department vehicles and 115 emergency responders were still at the scene, according to the newspaper.Fire crews and police drone teams were searching through the debris to find victims in the destroyed two-story building, authorities said."We have gone from rescue mode to recovery mode," Berry said during the evening news conference. "We are still actively in recovery mode, and we may be in this mode for the next two to four hours, maybe extending this operation even beyond that."He added that some residents have been accounted for, but authorities were working on getting a total count of the number of people who live in the apartment complex.According to Evans, authorities will be at the scene for the next 24 hours "to preserve the integrity of the scene for the purpose of the investigation, and so that the property itself can be secured at some point in the future."By around 7 p.m. local time, crews had searched about 35% to 40% of the apartment building, Evans said."We may very well find more victims," he added. "We just don't know at this time, but we just have to keep searching."Dallas police urge public not to go to the fire sceneA family reunification center was set up at W. H. Adamson High School gym, according to the Dallas Police Department and Mayor Eric Johnson. Police urged the public not to go to the scene and advised families to go to the high school for assistance."I am closely monitoring the latest developments regarding the explosion in Oak Cliff. My prayers are with those injured, their families, and all those who have suffered loss from this tragic event," Johnson said in a statement on X. "We will continue to monitor the incident closely and support all those affected."According to Evans, residents impacted or displaced by the incident have been provided with hotel rooms by the city. Kevin Oden, director of Emergency Management and Crisis Response for the City of Dallas, urged people seeking family reunification or more information to contact the city.