An early Sunday morning explosion in Washington Township, Gloucester County, obliterated a New Jersey home and reportedly claimed the lives of two individuals, shaking the surrounding neighborhood with a force likened by residents to a bomb detonation.
Authorities say the blast happened shortly after 2 a.m. near Tranquility Court and Orion Way, triggering a wave of emergency calls from startled locals who heard a deafening boom followed by fire.
When officers reached the scene at 13 Tranquility Court, they found the home engulfed in flames and severely damaged, appearing to have been torn apart by an intense explosion. Fire crews from the Washington Fire Department arrived shortly after and managed to bring the blaze under control.
Although the official statement released by the Washington Township Police did not detail any casualties, WPVI—Philadelphia’s ABC affiliate—reported that sources within law enforcement confirmed the discovery of a man and a woman’s bodies in the debris. The police department has deferred all media inquiries to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, which has yet to release a public comment.
The blast also caused collateral damage, with footage from WPVI showing destruction to nearby homes and vehicles. Residents as far as several blocks away said they were jolted awake by the sheer force of the explosion. The incident is currently being investigated by local police, fire officials, the county prosecutor’s office, and the New Jersey Fire Marshal.
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.