Huge explosion at Texas home kills couple, teen

updated 7:23 a.m. ET June 19, 2009

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - An adult couple and a teenager were killed Thursday in an explosion at the home they had recently been remodeling.

The cause of the blast was being investigated, but police were "leaning" to the conclusion that it was an accident, Capt. John Houston said.

A 45-year-old woman, her 14-year-old daughter and the woman's 52-year-old boyfriend were found in the rubble. Police did not release their names pending positive identification.

Houston said family members said the residents "were doing some remodeling and were complaining of gas leaks." Investigators were looking at propane tanks found at the home.

The blast rattled the neighborhood in Corpus Christi, on the southern Texas coast. Debris was found about two blocks away. Houston said the explosion "pretty much leveled the whole place" and shattered windows in nearby homes.

Witnesses told police that the explosion blew the roof 30 to 35 feet above the tree line.

A portion of the roof sat on the top of a truck in the driveway. The walls were blown out and items from the home ended up across the street.

Julie Doyle, an employee at Mike Doyle Custom Surf Boards, said the blast shook the whole shop.

"My husband and I ran into the street. It was raining debris," she said in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. "My first instinct was that a plane went down. Debris was raining down like it was 9/11. I have house insulation in my parking lot."

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