1 dead after a house explosion in West Virginia

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CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — A house has exploded in a West Virginia neighborhood, killing one man and prompting nearby homes to be evacuated, officials said.

Firefighters responded to a report of a house explosion in the Chestnut Hills community of Clarksburg on Sunday. When they arrived, they found people helping a man, Clarksburg Fire Chief James Green told The Associated Press. The man, who was the only person in the home at the time of the explosion, was taken to a hospital and died from his injuries, Green said.

The blast blew out windows and sent debris flying for several blocks, Clarksburg Police Chief Mark Kiddy told The Exponent Telegram.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. It totally blew it apart. There was a recliner in a tree,” he said. “It’s a miracle no one else was hurt.”

After the explosion, a gas leak was reported and all residents in a five-block radius were required to evacuate Sunday, but the Harrison County Office of Emergency Management announced Monday morning that some area residents were allowed to return home.

A cause for the explosion was not immediately determined. The State Fire Marshal’s office will handle the investigation, Kiddy said.

Hope Gas crews were on the scene restoring service on Monday and activity was expected to continue throughout the day, according to Hope Gas spokesperson Erin O’Donnell. The company has ongoing maintenance work in the area as part of a long-term pipe replacement program, but there were no leak concerns in the area before the explosion, O’Donnell said.