Explosion destroys house in Pittsburgh area; no official word on any deaths, injuries

CRESCENT, Pa. — Emergency responders are on the scene of an explosion that destroyed a home in the Pittsburgh area near the Ohio River.

Emergency officials in Allegheny County said the explosion in Crescent Township in Pittsburgh’s northwest suburbs was reported around 9 a.m. Tuesday. Police, fire brigade and emergency services were sent to the scene, the control room said.

Aerial photographs of the scene showed smoking ruins with the structure reduced to a pile of rubble and some large pieces stuck in the trees above.

A Columbia Gas representative told reporters that company crews responded but determined that the home involved was not served by Columbia Gas, but rather by a private gas well on the property.

Officials said they could not immediately confirm whether anyone had been killed or injured.

The province’s emergency services department said the scene “is in a remote location and we are asking everyone to avoid the area to allow emergency responders access.”