At least four people were killed and two others injured in a home explosion in a northwestern Pennsylvania suburb Thursday night, according to authorities.
Pottstown Township Manager Justin Keller confirmed at a news conference that the explosion occurred shortly after 8:00 pm Thursday in this town about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of Philadelphia.
Two other people may be
missing
, Keller added, noting that the health status of the people who were hospitalized is unknown.
Emergency personnel near the scene of a house explosion in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, on Thursday.NBC Philadelphia
It is still unknown what caused the explosion
and
Police have also not released the names of those killed or injured.
"I heard a huge explosion ...
I thought a bomb had gone
off," Russell Noll, who lives nearby, told NBC's Philadelphia affiliate.
Another woman, Ashley Miller, told the outlet that
the explosion blew out her windows.
"I just saw smoke and I thought the whole back of the house was gone and I just ran for the kids and ran out the door," Miller said.
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Officials from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the state fire marshal's office were among the agencies that responded to the scene, Keller told reporters.
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The first calls to 911 about the explosion came at 8:07 pm, added Todd Stieritz, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety.
With information from AP and
NBC News.
