A 3-year-old Missouri girl has died from injuries sustained in a gas explosion that killed her father and injured her mother, two siblings and five other relatives, authorities said Thursday.
The family's home in the far southern Missouri town of Wyatt erupted in flames on Monday, and the girl was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, for treatment. Wyatt is about 175 miles (280 kilometers) northwest of Nashville.
Tennessee officials notified the Mississippi County Sheriff’s Office in Missouri of the girl’s death on Thursday, said sheriff's Capt. Barry Morgan. He declined to release her name but identified her father as Corey Coleman, who died in the immediate aftermath of the blast.
He said the girl's mother and 6-month-old sister are in critical condition, fighting for their lives. The girl's 1-year-old brother, along with several cousins and an adult relative, also are hospitalized in stable condition.
Morgan said the source of the explosion has been narrowed down to two propane-powered appliances — a stove and a water heater. But he said that the explosion was so bad that investigators haven't been able to narrow down which was to blame.
“It is a pure 100% accident," he said, explaining that foul play and drugs had been ruled out. “Just a freak accident."
