Indiana home explosion leaves at least three people dead and 39 houses damaged after huge blast

Three people were killed and at least 39 homes were damaged on Wednesday when a massive house explosion rocked the neighborhood in the southern Indiana city of Evansville, authorities said. 

Evansville Fire Department Chief Mike Connelly said there could be more victims as authorities have not yet completed their search. 

‘There could be other victims, we have not completed our search,’ Connelly said, ‘The buildings are not yet safe to enter.’ 

A total of 39 houses were damaged by the explosion at around 1 p.m. He said the department has not confirmed how many of the houses were occupied when the explosion happened because ‘some were too unstable to enter.’

Connelly earlier said at least three people were injured. It was not immediately clear if those he counted as injured had subsequently died.

The identities of the people who died would not be released until the next of kin has been notified, Dave Anson, chief deputy coroner for Vanderburgh County, told The Associated Press.

The cause of the explosion has not been determined, but the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was investigating.

‘Debris is strewn over a 100-foot radius,’ including ‘typical construction materials’ such as wooden boards, window glass and insulation, Connelly said.

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

CenterPoint Energy, the local gas utility, was last called to the home in January 2018, Connelly said. CenterPoint issued a statement saying 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.

Photos posted by the mayor shows damage in a residential neighborhood with police and fire vehicles on the scene in Evansville, on the Kentucky border

The explosion on Wednesday was the second house explosion in the area in just over five years. A house explosion on June 27, 2017, killed two people and injured three others

Jacki Baumgart, an office manager at Award World Trophies about two and a half blocks from the site of the explosion, said she and other employees in their building panicked when they heard the 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 continued: ‘Everybody here immediately ran out of the building. We thought the building was going to come down.’

Evansville Police Department posted to Facebook a plea for footage of the incident.  

‘Our thoughts are with those closely involved with the explosion that happened on N. Weinbach this afternoon,’ they wrote.

‘As more information becomes available the respective agencies investigating will be able to provide more information.

N. Weinbach between Columbia and Oak Hill will be shut down for the foreseeable future, please plan an alternate route.

If anyone has footage of the incident, please forward a copy of the video to our Detectives Unit at whunt@evansvillepolice.com.’

The explosion on Wednesday was the second house explosion in the area in just over five years. A house explosion on June 27, 2017, killed two people and injured three others.