Authorities in Michigan say four people have died and two others were injured in a house explosion 45 miles west of Detroit that could be heard from miles away and destroyed the home entirely, leaving only the basement intact.
Police said six people were in the home. Four of those at the home died at the scene, and two others were hospitalized in critical condition. They added that they had not determined the cause of the explosion – which occurred about 3.30pm Saturday – and did not know if the victims were related.
Northfield Township police lieutenant David Powell told reporters Saturday that the blast, which could be heard about nine miles (14.4km) away, sent debris into the air that landed on both sides of a nearby highway.
“You have three deceased on scene – it’s terrible,” Powell told Local 4 News. “Our officers got a call just a little while ago that somebody found debris on the other side of (US highway 23) with some paperwork on it, so we went over and collected that to see if it was from that and it is debris from the house explosion.”
A neighbor told the outlet: “It went off like a bomb. I don’t know how to explain it.
“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. … By the time I drove there, there was still stuff falling from the sky.”
In a separate interview with Detroit’s ABC 7, a neighbor said: “It sounded like something I remember from war. It was that loud.
“Even in war, I’ve never heard of anything of this level at this distance.”
Police, fire and emergency medical services responded to the 8000 block of Winters Lane in Northfield Township shortly after a 911 call reported the explosion, Marc Breckenridge, public information officer for Emergent Health Partners, told the Detroit News.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
