2 dead after New Jersey home explosion



NEWFIELD, N.J. — A house exploded in New Jersey early Saturday, killing two people and reducing the two-story home to piles of scattered rubble, authorities said.

Foul play is not suspected.

The blast in Newfield initially was reported as a gas explosion that shattered windows in nearby homes, KYW-TV reported. Debris was strewn over several blocks, and pieces could be seen hanging from a tree and power line. Utility workers were shutting off gas lines to homes in the area.

The explosion was reported at 6:15 a.m., the Gloucester County prosecutor's office said.

The names of the victims and other details weren't immediately released. However, KYW quoted family members saying a couple in their 70s lived in the home.

"Just good people," Wayne Ingling, a friend of the family, told the Philadelphia Inquirer as he stood down the street. "It shakes you up. It's a really bad scene up there."

The county fire marshal is investigating, along with several other agencies, including a state police arson-bomb unit, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Franklin Township police department.