Mill Hall, Pennsylvania — A mother and six children between the ages of 3 and 11 were killed in an explosion and fire at a home in central Pennsylvania, authorities said.
Pennsylvania State Police said in a statement that firefighters who responded to a report of an explosion and fire at a home in the town of Lamar in Clinton County near Mill Hall on Sunday morning confirmed that seven people were trapped, but they were unable to search the building that was engulfed in flames. All seven died and police identified them as Sarah Stolzfus, 34, four sons, ages 11, 10, 5, and 3, and two daughters, ages 8 and 6.
The cause is under investigation. Police said that a propane gas leak inside the house may have caused the explosion and fire, noting that the external propane tanks did not explode and were not contributing factors to the explosion and fire.
Neighbor Christina Duck He told WNEP-TV She was eating breakfast when she started.
“I heard and felt a bang, so I got up and looked out the window, and I could see flames through the windows, and then I ran out and within a minute the entire house was completely engulfed,” Duck said. Duck said that the family moved to live here two months ago, noting that she often saw the children outside playing.