BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- A woman has been found dead in the rubble of this morning's Gate City explosion. She suffered crushing injuries and burns, and rescuers were unable to get a pulse from her at the scene.

Just moments before, a man was pulled out alive in critical condition. He was taken to UAB Hospital. Birmingham Fire Chief Ivor Brooks said rescue teams sprang into action after hearing the man calling to them from under the rubble.

Workers began shouting to one another, "Hey, we got somebody, it's time to get busy," Brooks said.

Earlier today, five children and two adults were taken to the hospital following the pre-dawn explosion apparently involving a gas line at Birmingham's Gate City apartments.

"This explosion was a tragedy for the family and this community. It is really a Christmas miracle that we didn't experience an even greater loss of life,'' said Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper. "There are so many other things that could have gone wrong in the response and rescue effort but our public safety personnel really demonstrated their skill and expertise in this operation."

BFD said they are packing up and turning the investigation over to Alagasco at this point. "It's up to Alagasco to clean up the rest," Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service spokesman C.W. Mardis said Tuesday morning.

Mayor William Bell visited the scene earlier this morning and prayed with victim's families, Mardis said.

Mardis said the five children and two adults taken to the hospitals this morning had varying degrees of injury, but none were believed life-threatening. He said two, five-bedroom apartments were "literally destroyed."

A neighbor said debris from the blast showered other units with bricks and debris. Gate City resident Viola Bozelan said the explosion happened around 1:30 a.m.

"It shook my house," Bozelan told AL.com. "I came out and the whole building was on fire."

Bozelan said she and a friend once lived in the building that exploded."I thought an airplane had crashed down here," she said.

Taris Richardson, who said he has lived in the community for 20 years, said the smell of gas has been a problem in the apartment complex going back three years, especially during the summer and at a building adjacent to one that exploded.

"You can smell gas right there," Richardson said, pointing to the building.

Gary Williams, with the Salvation Army, said the organization is on site to provide snacks, water, coffee, or cook a meal for firefighters and those affected. "We're just going to do what it takes," Williams said.

Residents in the immediate area have been complaining that water in the area is muddy and undrinkable. Mardis said that can happen when firefighting -- fire hoses pull a large volume of water and can stir up sediment in the system.

"We will have some dirt in the lines," he said. He said Birmingham Water Works is "working feverishly" to fix that.

AL.com reporter Carol Robinson contributed to this report.