A massive explosion Wednesday at a house in Evansville, Indiana, killed 3 people and damaged 39 homes.
At least 11 of the 39 homes damaged in the blast are uninhabitable, according to Evansville Fire Department Chief Mike Connelly, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
A house exploded in the southern Indiana city of Evansville, killing three people and damaging dozens of other homes in the neighborhood, authorities say. The explosion’s cause hasn’t been determined. https://t.co/BzdKxaaSvx
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 10, 2022
“Debris is strewn over a 100-foot (30-meter) radius,” including “typical construction materials,” Connelly said, according to the AP.
Firefighters were not able to confirm how many houses were occupied at the time of the explosion because “some were too unstable to enter,” said Connelly.
Jacki Baumgart, an office manager at a store two and a half blocks away from the blast, and her employees started panicking when they heard the blast.
“We thought a tree fell on the building or a car ran into the place,” Baumgart said, the AP reported. “Debris from the ceiling came down.” (RELATED: Four Dead, Two Injured In House Explosion Outside Of Philadelphia)
“Everybody here immediately ran out of the building. We thought the building was going to come down,” Baumgart added.
Local officials have not yet determined the cause of the explosion, according to the AP. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is investigating the incident.
A 2017 explosion in a nearby neighborhood killed two people and injured three others.