Four people died and two others were hospitalized when a Michigan home exploded Saturday, creating a blast that could be heard from miles away.
Northfield Township police and fire crews dispatched to the single-family residence, which is located about 45 miles west of Detroit, arrived after 4 p.m. to find only the basement standing and debris covering approximately two acres of the property.
Upon learning six occupants had been in the residence, authorities began searching the area for them, while fire crews tried to extinguish the fire.
Personnel found three deceased individuals and helped transport three others for medical treatment, with one of the injured later dying from their injuries.
Investigators are now working around the clock to try to determine the cause of the explosion, which scattered pieces of evidence far and wide. They told Scripps News Detroit it could be days or months before the mystery is solved and shared with the public.
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"The debris field is tremendous, and the devastation of trying to put that all together, it makes me think about a plane crash," former Waterford Fire Chief Joe Lyman told Scripps News Detroit. "When the FAA comes in, they have to totally rebuild this airplane and try to figure out what caused a crash like that. It's going to be a long tedious process."
Lyman said he believes the survivors of the explosion can help authorities get to the bottom of their investigation.
Meanwhile, neighbors, whose homes didn't sustain any damage, say they're hoping for answers as they continue to grapple with the tragedy.
"To have driven by that house every day for 26 years, to see it absolutely leveled was devastating," said neighbor Gypsy Kolasinski. "My thought was — probably like most of us down here — the furnace was down in the basement, and if nobody (was) down there to smell that it was leaking, it could have built up in the basement area, and some ignition could have sent it off," Kolasinski said.
An arson team is expected to investigate the scene Tuesday as the next step of the investigation.
