PUEBLO - One person was killed and another was pulled from the rubble of a building that exploded in Pueblo around 2 p.m. Thursday.

The explosion happened at the Branch Inn at 301 South Union Avenue in Downtown Pueblo.

Police report 22-year-old Ashley R. Johnson who was inside the boutique prior to the explosion died at Parkview Medical Center after she was extricated from the rubble 90 minutes after the blast.

Eugene "Geno" Roney, 74, who police identified and said had been inside the Branch Inn, was trapped in the destruction for more than four hours as crews scrambled to extricate him. He was conscious and talking to rescuers during the extrication and was sent to Parkview, where he is listed in critical condition.

Police identified the other victims transported from the scene to Parkview as Branch co-owner Frank Vigil, 41; Kevin Trujillo, 40; Jennifer Flower, 23; and Nick Stabile, 18.

Rick Beatty, a delivery driver for the nearby Flower and Herb Co., says the restaurant is "flat to the ground." Flower and Herb Co. owner Mardi Clay said the explosion was so loud she thought a car had smashed into her shop.

Leroy Lucero, whose office is in the Union Depot, said, "The Branch Inn is completely gone. Anyone that would have been walking there would have been dead." Lucero said the explosion rattled everything in the depot, and bricks and glass blocks from the building were scattered across the sidewalk and the street.

Police Sgt. James Ruggieri says Union and "C" Street remain blocked off to all traffic as crews begin investigating the cause of the blast.

A nearby-business owner tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 the son of the owner came to her store to drop off new menus just minutes before the blast. That explosion was felt at least two blocks away and shattered windows in a one block radius.

The Branch Inn restaurant was in the midst of a transformation from a restaurant/bar to a more family-friendly establishment. The location is in the Union Avenue Historic District, where president-elect Barack Obama spoke to a crowd of thousands less than two weeks ago.

Percival says a fire was still burning more than two hours after the explosion.

One witnesses at the scene tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 they saw flames up to 40 feet in the air.