Southern Indiana house explosion kills 3 and damaged 39 homes

• Evansville, Indiana house explosion kills three and injures at least one.
• At least 11 of the 39 damaged homes are “uninhabitable,” Evansville fire chief says.
• It was the area’s second house explosion in less than five years. The cause of the explosion is unknown.

A house exploded in the southern Indiana city of Evansville authorities claim three people were dead and the blast destroyed 39 homes.

The identities of those who died will not be released until the next of kin have been notified, according to David Anson, chief deputy coroner for Vanderburgh County.

According to Sgt. Anna Gray of the Evansville Police Department, at least one other injury was reported and the victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

According to Evansville Fire Department Chief Mike Connelly, the explosion at around 1 p.m. damaged 39 houses. According to him, the department has not confirmed how many of the houses were occupied at the time of the explosion because “some were too unstable to enter.”

Connelly told the Evansville Courier & Press that at least 11 of the 39 damaged homes are “uninhabitable.”

The cause of the explosion was unknown, but the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives was looking into it. The ATF’s Evansville field office received a phone message seeking comment.

“Debris is strewn over a 100-foot radius,” Connelly said, referring to “typical construction materials” such as wooden boards, window glass, and insulation.

Aerial video posted on social media shows damage in a residential neighbourhood in Evansville, Kentucky, with police and fire vehicles on the scene.

Connelly said CenterPoint Energy, the local gas utility, was last called to the house in January 2018. In a statement, CenterPoint said it “worked with first responders to secure the area.”

“CenterPoint Energy is working closely with the Evansville Fire Department, State Fire Marshal and other agencies as the investigation of this incident continues,” the utility said.

Jacki Baumgart, office manager at Award World Trophies, which is about two and a half blocks from the explosion site, said she and other employees in her building panicked when they heard a loud blast and saw smoke.

“We thought a tree fell on the building or a car ran into the place,” Baumgart said. “Debris from the ceiling came down.”

She went on: “Everyone in the building immediately fled. We thought the building would collapse.”

It was the area’s second house explosion in less than five years. On June 27, 2017, a house explosion killed two people and injured three others.

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