POTTSTOWN, Penn. — Authorities in Pennsylvania say five people are dead and two others were injured after a house exploded 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

Several media outlets reported that Pottstown Borough Manager Justin Keller said at a Friday press conference that the explosion occurred around 8 p.m. Thursday.

According to the news reports, officials say several homes were destroyed in the blast.

The news outlets reported that two people were transported to a local hospital.

According to the news outlets, one injured was in critical but stable condition, while the second victim went into surgery Friday.

The victims' names have not been released, nor has what caused the explosion.

The New York Times reported that Pottstown School District canceled classes Friday.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (Video above: WFIE via CNN) —

Three people were killed Wednesday when a house exploded in the southern Indiana city of Evansville, authorities said.

David Anson, chief deputy coroner for Vanderburgh County, told The Associated Press that the identities of the people who died would not be released until the next of kin has been notified.

Evansville Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Anna Gray said at least one other injury was reported and that victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Evansville Fire Department Chief Mike Connelly said a total of 39 houses were damaged by the explosion at around 1 p.m. He said the department has not confirmed how many of the houses were occupied when the explosion happened because “some were too unstable to enter.”

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At least 11 of the 39 homes damaged are “uninhabitable,” Connelly told the Evansville Courier & Press.

The cause of the explosion has not been determined, but the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was investigating. A phone message seeking comment was left at the Evansville field office of the ATF.

“Debris is strewn over a 100-foot (30-meter) radius," including “typical construction materials” such as wooden boards, window glass and insulation, Connelly said.

Aerial video posted on social media shows damage in a residential neighborhood with police and fire vehicles on the scene in Evansville, on the Kentucky border.

CenterPoint Energy, the local gas utility, was last called to the home in January 2018, Connelly said. CenterPoint issued a statement saying it “worked with first responders to secure the area.”

“CenterPoint Energy is working closely with the Evansville Fire Department, State Fire Marshal and other agencies as the investigation of this incident continues,” the utility said.

Jacki Baumgart, an office manager at Award World Trophies about two and a half blocks from the site of the explosion, said she and other employees in their building panicked when they heard the loud blast and saw smoke.

“We thought a tree fell on the building or a car ran into the place,” Baumgart said. “Debris from the ceiling came down.”

She continued: “Everybody here immediately ran out of the building. We thought the building was going to come down.”

It was the second house explosion in the area in just over five years. A house explosion on June 27, 2017, killed two people and injured three others.

Wednesday's explosion also brought to mind a massive blast in 2012 that destroyed or damaged more than 80 homes on Indianapolis’ south side and killed two people. A man was convicted of tampering with a natural gas line at his then-girlfriend’s home in an attempt to commit insurance fraud, with the explosion killing two next-door neighbors. That man, his half-brother and girlfriend all received long prison sentences.

EDGEWOOD, Md. —

The scene investigators called a "violent gas explosion" in Edgewood, Maryland, came into focus Monday morning as cleanup efforts and the investigation began.

One person was hospitalized after a gas explosion destroyed a house Sunday night at the intersection in Edgewood, fire officials told sister station WBAL.

Investigators from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office wrapped up their investigation at the scene shortly after noon Monday. Investigators told WBAL this was a gas explosion and Baltimore Gas and Electric is not at fault. The area of origin was within the kitchen, where investigators are focusing on the stove.

"I saw the flames shooting over the top of the house on the corner, and the more I walked up, I realized what had happened," said Donna Dulski, a neighbor. "(It's) quite upsetting, and I would have bet my next paycheck that nobody would have made it out of that house alive."

"I was about ready to fall asleep and suddenly I heard this noise I have never heard before. I mean, it was thunderous," said Rick Dulski, a neighbor.

"It was big. It was deep. It was very scary. The lights went off immediately," said Alicia Larkins, a neighbor.

Henry Schwartzman also felt the blast. He lives next door to the home that exploded.

"It knocked me off the sofa and things started to fall down. It got black all of a sudden after the hit," he said. "I came to the door and I (saw) flames and smoke."

As he got the process started to get the damage to his home repaired, Schwartzman was thinking about his next-door neighbor who survived the blast.

"He worked for the Postal Service. He was going to retire in two months," Schwartzman said.

"We're just praying right now that he recovers from his injuries," Donna Dulski said.

"Thank God he was alive," Larkins said.

Investigators said the homeowner was pulled from the rubble in the back of the house by a good Samaritan, who also pulled a dog from the rubble. Investigators want to speak with the good Samaritan to get more details. The dog is being treated by an emergency vet and a second dog is being treated by animal control.

"It's a miracle that he survived such a violent explosion," Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire said.

Investigators said the homeowner is in critical but stable condition at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center for treatment of upwards of third-degree burns mostly to his upper body.