RAGLEY, La.—Investigators are trying to determine the cause of an explosion that destroyed a southwest Louisiana home, killing a teenage boy from Alabama and injuring five other people.
Louisiana State Fire Marshal Bryan J. Adams said the explosion happened Saturday morning. Firefighters arrived to find a house burning. The explosion leveled the house, throwing debris for some distance and seriously damaging nearby vehicles and a metal outbuilding.
Killed was Deuce Barrer, 16, of Theodore, Alabama, WKRG-TV reported. Five other people were taken to hospitals including Barrer’s older sister and mother. Adams said a toddler who was in the house was not injured and is being cared for by relatives.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy for this family and community,” Adams said in a statement.
Some nearby residents told KPLC-TV that the explosion felt like an earthquake, and that the resulting shock wave knocked items to the floor in their homes and caused power outages.
Ragley is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Lake Charles.