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Man killed, 2 injured in Cambria County house explosion

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. — Authorities are investigating after one person was killed and two were injured in an explosion at a Cambria County house Tuesday morning.

Trooper John Matchik, a state police spokesman, said investigators have been sifting through a "large debris area" to determine what caused the blast that destroyed the Clearfield Township home on Kepshire Road down to its foundation just before 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Troopers from the Ebensburg barracks and the Cambria County Coroner's Office confirmed a man was killed, and two others were taken to an area hospital. Their names, ages and conditions have not been released.

Cambria County 911 dispatchers said hazardous materials crews were dispatched to the scene. Matchik said they "can't say at this time what caused the explosion."

“We’re still in the early phases of trying to put together what happened here this morning and what the circumstances were,” Matchik said.

Investigators said they’re treating the explosion as a criminal act, but have not made any arrests.

“We are treating it as a criminal investigation at this point, until we’d be able to find indicators to prove otherwise,” Matchik said.

Authorities said they’ve called in a special squadron from Harrisburg that specializes in explosives and hazardous waste to examine the scene.

“There are so many things that we’re looking at right now, and we want to make sure we proceed methodically with this investigation,” Matchik said.

A family of five lived at the home, but the county coroner said the person killed in the blast didn't live there.