A 92-year-old woman has died after a huge explosion tore through a house, damaging at least seven neighbouring homes.
The blast in the Buffalo suburb of Lackawanna on Tuesday morning levelled the buildings and left at least one person dead.
She has been named by officials as Irene Sanok.
In a statement authorities for the City of Lackawanna said: "Upon arrival, Lackawanna fire and police crews found the 91 Bedford Avenue home completely destroyed with fire burning from the home’s foundation and in a portion of the debris field scattered on the north and south ends of the street.
"Mrs. Irene Sanok, 92 years old, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office.
"At present, it is believed that no other people were inside the residence at the time of the explosion. We are not aware of any injuries sustained by nearby residents or emergency workers.
"Seven adjacent homes were damaged by the explosion impact.
"The City of Lackawanna extends its condolences to Mrs. Sanok’s family and asks the community to keep her and her family in their thoughts and prayers."
A neighbour, Michael Salamone told local media the scene looked like 'a war zone' and said: “I’ve never been in a war zone, but it looked like a war zone, debris all over.
“We had debris in our backyards, like, other side of the house. There’s debris stuck in windshields.”
Another neighbour called the explosion “absolutely mind-blowing.”
Speaking to Buffalo News Karen Buntich said: “I was sleeping in bed and just heard, like, the whole earth move. It really was that bizarre.”
Officials are investigating the cause of the blast and Lackawanna Fire Captain Andrew Kaminski told USA Today it was believed to have been a gas explosion.
The investigation is expected to take several days, officials said.
