Five are dead, including a child, as their remains are recovered from the rubble of a Pennsylvania home explosion

Five people have been found dead after a house explosion in western Pennsylvania that destroyed three buildings and damaged at least a dozen others, authorities said Sunday.

Lanny Conley, Plum Borough police chief, said the bodies of four adults and a minor were recovered after the blast shortly before 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the borough.

“This is certainly a sad, sad day and a sad time, not just for the people of Plum, but for all the people in the community and in this region,” said Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.

Footage of the explosion circulating online shows a home in Plum, a Pittsburgh suburb, in what appears to be a fairly sleepy neighborhood exploding and sending debris flying about.

What caused the explosion is still under investigation and officials have not released the names of the dead.

Of the three people taken to hospitals, two were released while one remained in critical condition, said Steve Imbarlina, deputy director of fire and emergency services for Allegheny County.

Fifty-seven firefighters were treated at the scene for minor problems.

“It’s just tragic, I mean, it looks like a war zone — it looks like a bomb hit our neighborhood, and it’s just a shame,” neighbor Rafael Kolankowski told the newspaper. Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

Emergency services reported people were trapped under the rubble after the blast flattened one house and left two others in flames, county spokesman Amie Downs said.

Crews from at least 18 fire departments worked to douse the flames with the help of water tankers from Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation. Imbarlina warned the investigation would be a “slow and long process” that would involve a lot of forensic testing and could take “months, if not years.”

The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office is expected to provide additional information on the deceased victims.

“Please give us some time to deal with this situation and give the families your respect and give them some space to deal with this tragedy,” Conley said.

Michael Huwar, president of Peoples Gas, said the company’s checks for underground and airborne gas leaks, as well as constant pressure verified at regulating stations, indicated that “our system was working as designed.”

Gas and electricity supplies were shut down as a precaution and officials said on Sunday there was a plan to begin restoring power with all but a few homes expected to be restored, officials said.

Governor Josh Shapiro said he and the first lady were “praying for the affected families” and promised them that “we will take care of you as you rebuild.”

Emergency services were called to Rustic Ridge Drive and Brookside Drive at about 10:23 a.m. Saturday morning and discovered people trapped under the rubble, while two others were engulfed in flames, police said.

First responders who arrived on scene were met by a massive inferno that had created a large plume of thick, black smoke at the scene.

Several homes were leveled in the incident with aerial footage showing at least three empty lots where homes once stood and multiple properties with broken windows and exterior damage.

Allegheny and Westmoreland counties sent water tankers to the scene and 18 different fire departments coordinated to douse the flames and conduct rescue operations.

The house that exploded belonged to the city manager, Mike Thomas, Plum Mayor Harry Schlegel told the outlet. It is still unclear what condition Thomas is in.

His wife and daughter were taken to hospital and a man who lives in a neighboring home was flown to UPMC Mercy to be treated in the hospital’s burn unit, the mayor said.

Neighbor Alexis Typanski said she was asleep when she heard the thunderous blast.

“I heard this ‘boom.” It was so loud it woke me up. “I thought it was thunder from last night’s storm,” she said.

“My water bottle fell down on me instantly. I was shaking. It scared me so much.’