NEWTON, Utah, Mar. 10, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Rescue teams searching the site of a devastating Cache County area home explosion Thursday have found the body of a blast victim inside the heavily damaged residence.
Two other victims, both in critical condition, were transported to the hospital several hours earlier shortly after the explosion.
The conflagration, dispatched at about 6 p.m., nearly leveled the home in Cache Junction, an unincorporated area near Newton, just west of Smithfield in northern Cache County, according to initial reports.
“Today at 5:57 p.m, the Cache County Sheriff’s Office received a call that a house had exploded and was on fire,” according to a 10 p.m. post by the sheriff’s office on social media.
“The explosion occurred at 5670 N State Road 23 in Cache County, also known as Cache Junction.
“Initial reports indicated there were 3 occupants in the home. At 6:10 p.m. the first fire units arrived and located one person outside the home, and the second person could be heard inside the home yelling for help.
“Rescue units immediately transported the first occupant to Cache Valley Hospital, who was in critical condition. Rescue units then successfully rescued the second occupant from inside the home at 6:32 p.m. and they were taken to Logan Regional Hospital in critical condition.
“Fire units are still actively engaged in recovery and looking for the third occupant who has not been located at this time,” according to a 10 p.m. press release.
An updated release sent to Gephardt Daily at Friday at 1:05 a.m. indicated the body of the third occupant had been recovered.
“Around midnight the combined fire elements located the third person who was in the home at the time of the explosion. The individual had perished in the explosion.
“Our sincerest of condolences to family and friends of the victims involved,” the updated release said.
“The State Fire Marshal has been called to help with the investigation and we will not speculate on the cause of the explosion or fire.”
Emergency responders included the Logan City Fire Department, the Cache County Fire District, and volunteer fire units from Trenton, Smithfield, Lewiston, and Mendon in Cache County, and the Franklin County, Idaho, department.
Gephardt Daily will update the story as more information is made known.
