An Amish woman and her six children were killed after a house explosion that shook rural Pennsylvania, authorities say.
Firefighters rushed to a report of an explosion and fire at a home in Lamar Township in Clinton County near Mill Hall on Sunday morning.
Seven people were trapped inside the home but rescuers couldn’t go in the house as it was engulfed in flames, Pennsylvania State Police said.
All seven victims died. Police identified them as Sarah Stoltzfus, 34, four sons, ages 11, 10, 5 and 3, and two daughters, ages 8 and 6.
An obituary posted online by a local funeral home identified Stoltzfus as a member of the Old Order Amish Church community. She is survived by her husband, David Stoltzfus, it said.
The cause is under investigation. A propane leak inside the home may have caused the explosion and fire, police said, noting that exterior propane tanks did not explode and were not contributing factors for the explosion and fire.
Neighbor Christina Duck told WNEP-TV she was eating breakfast when it began.
“And I heard a boom and I could feel it and I got up and looked out the window and I could see the flames through the windows and I come running outside and within a minute the whole house was completely engulfed,” Duck said.
The family moved in a couple of months ago, Duck added, noting that she often saw the children outside playing.
By the time firefighters got there, “there was no saving that house, it went up so fast,” she said.
WNEP-TV showed video of what it said was members of the Amish community arriving at the scene to clean up and pay respects.
The Amish prioritize their deep Christian faith and family life, eschewing many modern conveniences.
They wear traditional clothing and use horses and buggies for much of their transportation. They often speak a German dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch.
