Thursday’s house explosion in southern Indiana killed three and injured another

Authorities investigated the cause of a home explosion in a southern Indiana neighbourhood on Thursday that claimed the lives of three individuals and hospitalised another.

Due to the instability of the buildings, 39 residences in Evansville were damaged by the explosion on Wednesday afternoon, according to Fire Chief Mike Connelly, who briefed media on Thursday morning.

According to Connelly, 11 of the damaged houses were uninhabitable and had to be razed.

He said that determining the reason would be a “very painstaking process – and long.”

As of Thursday morning, the names of the deceased had not been disclosed.

According to Connelly, the fourth victim’s injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

Inquiries were also being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Evansville is situated close to the Kentucky-Indiana border. Debris was spread out across a 100-foot radius by the explosion.

Construction items including wooden planks, window glass, and insulation were among the debris.

The last time the local gas company, CenterPoint Energy, was contacted to the house was in January 2018, according to Connelly on Wednesday.

As the investigation into this event moves forward, CenterPoint Energy stated it was cooperating fully with the Evansville Fire Department, the State Fire Marshal, and other organisations.

In barely over five years, there have been two home explosions in the neighbourhood. On June 27, 2017, a home explosion left two persons dead and three more injured.

A significant bomb in 2012 on Indianapolis’ south side that killed two people and damaged or destroyed more than 80 houses also sprang to mind after Wednesday’s explosion.

In an effort to defraud insurance companies, a guy was found guilty of tampering with a natural gas line at the house of his ex-girlfriend.