Officials found the bodies of two people inside the wreckage of a home leveled by an explosion May 11 in southern New Jersey that woke up neighbors blocks away and sparked a criminal investigation.
Police in Washington Township, about 50 miles northwest of Atlantic City, responded to multiple calls reporting “a loud explosion” around 2 a.m.
When they arrived, the found a home completely engulfed in flames and heavily damaged from an apparent explosion. Firefighters responded and put out the blaze before authorities removed two bodies from the homes, officials said.
Authorities launched a criminal investigation into the explosion as they believe it was not accidental, reported CBS News, which cited the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office.
The names of the two people found dead in the wreckage of the home has not yet been released.
Neighbors, some who live blocks away, recall being jolted awake by the large blast.
“It was a real loud boom. It was loud. I said, something’s wrong,” neighbor, Jimmy Gibson, told ABC6. “The whole house was in flames already, that fast as soon as the explosion happened. I called 911 as I was walking out the house.”
Another neighbor, Suzanne Pinto, told the outlet, “It was huge, huge, sound like a bomb went off.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2 killed in house explosion in NJ; criminal investigation underway
