A house explosion and resulting fire north of St. Louis killed at least one person and critically injured several others early Friday, authorities said.
The explosion happened at around 1:20 a.m. in northern St. Louis County just west of Spanish Lake, the county police said in a news release. Officers and firefighters who were called to the scene found the house in flames and a person outside it who had died from injuries sustained in the fire, police said.
Four other people were taken to a hospital with life-threatening injures.
Neighbors reported hearing the explosion and feeling their houses shake from the blast. Debris littered neighborhood lawns as firefighters worked to knock down the flames.
Officials have not said what might have caused the blast, but police said bomb and arson detectives were investigating. When reached, police declined to provide more information about the fire and those injured and killed, citing the ongoing investigation.
