Minnesota fiery house explosion kills 1 in St. Paul suburb

• An explosion and fire occurred in a St. Paul, Minnesota, suburb, leveling a home just after 6:15 a.m.
• The explosion resulted in the death of at least one person, found in the garage during the initial search of the demolished home.
• Authorities are unable to confirm additional victims until they sift through the debris.

An explosion and subsequent fire leveled a home in a St. Paul, Minnesota, suburb early Thursday, killing at least one person, a fire official said.

EXPLOSION AT OHIO APARTMENT COMPLEX THAT INJURED 3 WAS LIKELY CAUSED BY GAS EXPLOSION

The explosion happened just after 6:15 a.m. in South St. Paul, said South Metro Fire Department Chief Mark Juelfs. Firefighters arrived within minutes and quickly extinguished the flames, Juelfs said. An initial search of the demolished home turned up one person dead inside the garage.

Authorities haven’t yet identified the person and don’t yet know if there were other people in the house, Juelfs said. “We can’t confirm whether there are additional victims until we sort through a lot of the debris,” he said.

OHIO HOUSE EXPLOSION LEAVES 1 DEAD, ANOTHER CRITICALLY INJURED, OFFICIALS SAY

Fire officials are working with local police and public works officials to determine the cause of the blast, Juelfs said.

South St. Paul is a city of about 21,000 about 8 miles south of St. Paul.