Woman's body found in rubble of Utah house explosion

Emergency responders work at the scene of an explosion at a duplex in American Fork, Utah on Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (Kristin Murphy/The Deseret News via AP)

AMERICAN FORK, Utah (AP) — A woman’s body was found in rubble following a pre-dawn explosion on Wednesday that destroyed a duplex house in northcentral Utah, authorities said.

The explosion was reported just before 6 a.m. in a residential area of American Fork. Officials said the duplex was on fire when firefighters arrived.

The woman’s body was found at about 8 a.m. after the fire had been extinguished.

Another woman was safely evacuated from the house’s second unit and a pet dog was found a few hours after the explosion. Officials believed there were no other occupants in the duplex.

Surrounding homes were heavily damaged by the explosion, American Fork Fire Battalion Chief Brandon Boshard told KSL-TV.

The victim’s identity was not immediately released and officials were trying to determine the cause of the blast.

American Fork is a city of more than 37,000 people located about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City.