The death toll from a home explosion in Northfield Township has risen to four, with two other people still hospitalized, according to the Northfield Township Police Department.
Township police initially said they found three people dead at the scene Saturday afternoon and another three were taken to an area hospital. In a news release on Sunday, police confirmed that the death toll had now reached four and two people were hospitalised. Police have not released the names of those killed and injured.
The explosion occurred at around 4 pm. Saturday at a residence on Winter Lane, a private, closed road that runs along the west side of the highway, just west of Whitmore Lake. 23, and is about a dozen miles north of Ann Arbor.
When police and firefighters arrived at the scene, they found that the single-family home had been razed to the ground by the explosion, leaving only the basement intact, with approximately two acres of the property reduced to a pile of debris.
Neighbors and other witnesses reported seeing debris flying through the air, which then landed in their yards and on both sides of U.S.-23, but no other homes were damaged in the explosion.
As police and firefighters arrived, they learned there were six people inside the house and began searching the area, while firefighters continued to extinguish the remaining fire.
Police said they found three dead people as well as three seriously injured people, who were taken to an area hospital for treatment. One of the victims later died, while two other survivors remain hospitalized.
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Trevor Alicia, 38, of Whitmore Lake, works as general manager at Polly’s Market in Whitmore Lake, a little more than three miles from the scene.
Alicia told the Free Press that she heard an explosion while working Saturday afternoon and ran outside, thinking something had happened near the store.
“A very loud bang, it shook the whole store,” Alicia said. “And when I heard it, initially I thought someone might have run over the side of the building with their car.”
Alicia said the impact of the explosion slightly shook the shelves of bottled liquor near the wall inside.
“I was really surprised, even our staff were saying ‘What was that? Did you hear that?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I heard that, what’s going on?'” Alicia said.
Employees later learned that the incident was an explosion at a nearby house, as visiting customers shared the news.
“News travels fast in a small town so naturally after a while a lot of customers were coming in to tell us what had happened,” Alicia said.
The cause of the explosion is still unknown. Police said the investigation into the cause of the explosion would continue for several days.
On Sunday, police had closed the road and asked people to stay away from the incident site.
Explosion in Whitmore Lake, Michigan pic.twitter.com/0c9WfCUoOs
— Nate Mark (@NateMark456313) December 30, 2023
“We want to advise the public that this is an active investigation and that Winters Lane is a private road, open only to residents and their guests,” the news release said.
