Five people were killed and two were injured in a house explosion in Pottstown, Pennsylvania on Thursday night, according to authorities.
Pottstown’s borough manager, Justin Keller, told reporters in a news conference that a blazing fire broke out around 8 p.m. ET on Thursday in Pottstown – a small town located 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
The names of the deceased were not released to the public. The conditions of the two people who were hospitalized from the fire are unknown. The cause of the fire is currently being investigated, Keller noted. Debris could be seen scattered across the neighborhood after the blast affected one home.
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“We went running down the street and a house was completely destroyed,” one eye witness told ABC6 Action News in Pennsylvania.
Keller added that officials with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the state fire marshal’s office were agencies that responded to the scene.
All Pottstown schools will be closed for students and staff on Friday.
Contributing: The Associated Press.