3 Dead In IL House Explosion: Authorities

TROY, IL — Three people were found dead inside what remained of a house that exploded overnight in downstate Illinois, according to authorities.

Emergency personnel responded around 11:15 p.m. Sunday to the 8000 block of West Kirsch Road in Troy, where a fire and explosion had occurred, and people were trapped, authorities said.

First responders arrived to find a person with significant burn injuries who was later taken to a St. Louis-area hospital, according to the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Multiple residents escaped the house uninjured, but three people were discovered dead inside the structure, authorities said.

“We do not believe there is a threat to the community at this time,” the sheriff’s office said Monday in a Facebook post.

Todd Mersinger, who lives about a quarter-mile from the scene, was awake when the explosion happened, he told The Alton Telegraph.

“It shook my whole house,” the 43-year-old told the newspaper. “I heard multiple explosions.”

A next-door neighbor to the home that exploded told the Telegraph she was awoken by the blast, which was so strong it threw her mother-in-law to the floor, injuring her.