Victims of Calgary house explosion face long road to recovery

Victims of the house explosion Monday in Calgary's Marlborough neighbourhood are facing a long road to recovery, and members of the South Sudanese community say they will need to lean on Calgarians for support.

At a press conference Thursday near the wreckage of the levelled home, community members and advocates told reporters more about the 10 victims, all of whom are adult members of the South Sudanese community in southern Alberta.

"If you see the explosion, you wouldn't believe anybody would come out alive," said Aleer Deng, cousin to a few of the victims. "It's because of the efforts of everybody around the Calgary area that they were able to get them all out of the house alive."

Efforts are underway to raise funds and supplies for the victims, some of whom face months of recovery for broken bones and severe burns. 

One victim, who had been supporting his family in Edmonton by working in Calgary, is expected to be in the hospital for at least six months. 

"The community has to work to see what we can do about him," said Deng Deng Tiordit, who was the first to visit the victims in the hospital. "Because he's not going to be working any more."

Many of the victims, the community members said, fear they'll lose their jobs or won't be able to support their families, some of whom live outside of Calgary.

• WATCH | Sudanese community members in Calgary thank those who saved ten lives: 

One of the victims is from Brooks, and he was in town only because his son was set to undergo emergency surgery, the community members said. The father stayed at the house one night before it exploded the next morning, leaving him with a broken back.

"It's sad now that both are in hospital instead of one," said Gar Gar, a community advocate. He noted the man's wife now has to look after their son alone as the father recovers in hospital. 

Of the 10 victims, nine remain in hospital. Three are medically sedated in intensive care.

This comes as an update to what the community members had said Wednesday, when they related that two victims had been discharged.

On Thursday, the community members clarified that one of the victims they believed was released actually had undergone surgery. That person is expected to be discharged in the coming days. 

The community is working to raise money and donations for the victims. On Saturday, a donation drive is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Forest Lawn Community Association.

Organizers are asking for clothes for tall men — the shortest of the victims stands at six feet tall.

"The problem now is the money," Tiordit said, explaining that the victims have no clothes, phones or places to stay once they're released from hospital.

With money raised, the community hopes to house the victims, ideally paying for a few months of rent upfront at two or three different residences, Tiordit said. 

WATCH | Security camera captures video of Marlborough house explosion:

According to the community members, 11 people had been living at the home on the 700 block of Maryvale Way N.E. Among them was the owner, the only victim to have been released from hospital so far.

The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, although city officials suspect it involved natural gas. 

Earlier this week, fire department Chief  Steven Dongworth said it'll be weeks until there are answers because the appliances in the basement need to be analyzed.

Dongworth told CBC News that there was no evidence of a meth lab in the home. Additionally, the Calgary Police Service said there is no active criminal investigation. 

At Thursday's news conference, the community members stressed that the victims were all working men, adding that some had just returned home from night shifts when the explosion happened.

"Everyone in this house is a hard-working Calgarian," Deng said.