Death toll rises to 4 in devastating Northfield Twp. house explosion

The number of victims killed in a house explosion in Northfield Township has climbed to four, with two other people still hospitalized, according to the Northfield Township Police Department.

Township police initially reported they found three people dead at the scene on Saturday afternoon with another three taken to an area hospital. In a news release Sunday, police confirmed that the death toll is now four and two people remain hospitalized. Police have not released the names of those killed and injured.

Update: Arkansas family identified as victims in explosion near Whitmore Lake

The explosion occurred around 4 p.m. Saturday at a residence on Winter Lane, a private, dead-end road that parallels U.S. 23 on the west side of the highway, just west of Whitmore Lake, and about a dozen miles north of Ann Arbor.

When police and fire personnel arrived at the scene, they found that the single-family home had been leveled by the explosion, leaving only the basement behind, with a debris field covering approximately two acres of the property.

Neighbors and other witnesses reported seeing debris launched in the air, where it later fell into their yards and on both sides of U.S.-23, but no other homes were damaged in the explosion.

As police and fire personnel arrived they learned there had been six people inside the home and they began a search of the area while fire personnel worked on extinguishing the remaining fire.

Police said they found three deceased individuals as well as three critically injured individuals, who were transported to an area hospital for treatment. One of the victims later died, while the two other survivors remain hospitalized.

Township Police Lt. Dave Powell told Fox 2 News on Saturday that the explosion was heard by Washtenaw County Sheriff's deputies nine miles away.

Trevor Alicea, 38 of Whitmore Lake, serves as general manager at Polly Market in Whitmore Lake, a little more than three miles from the scene.

Alicea told the Free Press she heard the explosion while working Saturday afternoon and ran outside, thinking there was an incident near the store.

"Super loud boom, it shook the whole store," Alicea said. "And when I heard it, I initially thought that someone might have ran into the side of the building with their car."

The shelves of bottled alcohol along the wall inside lightly rattled from the explosion impact, Alicea said.

"I was really surprised, even our employees were like 'What was that? Did you hear that?' And I'm like, 'Yeah I heard it, what's going on?'" Alicea said.

Staff later learned the incident was a nearby home explosion, as incoming customers shared the news.

"News travels fast in a small town so naturally a little while later a lot of customers were coming in telling us what happened," Alicea said.

The cause of the explosion is still unknown. Police said the investigation into the cause of the explosion will continue for several days.

The road was closed off by police on Sunday and police asked people to stay away from the scene.

"We want to advise the public that this is an active investigation and Winters Lane is a private road, only open to the residents and their guests," the news release said.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 4 dead, 2 injured after Northfield Township house explosion Saturday