An 89-year-old man and an 87-year-old woman were killed when their house exploded and caught on fire in Pennsylvania, authorities said.

The victims were identified as David Mitchell Jr. and Helen Mitchell, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office said. The explosion in Crescent Township, just outside of Pittsburgh, was reported at 8:54 a.m. Tuesday, local officials said.

The home was completely leveled by the blast, and the fire was throughout the house's foundation and along the hillside, authorities said. "We all felt and heard the explosion," Allegheny County Division Fire Chief Andrew Tomer said at a news conference. "You could feel it in your chest."

At least two other homes were damaged, Tomer said. The cause of the explosion has not been determined, officials said.

"There was natural gas on site from a private well. There was also propane on site from a private well," Tomer said.

"When the explosion happened, I thought either a truck hit our building or something happened within our factory," John Bundy, who works at a factory in the area, told ABC News. "We saw, like, a mushroom cloud explosion.“

"The whole lot was just completely leveled -- nothing remaining," Logan Barcia, Bundy's nephew, said.

 

source: https://6abc.com/house-explosion-crescent-township-today-riverview-road/14517070/