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Evansville, Indiana — Preliminary autopsy results released Monday on the three victims of a house explosion in a southern Indiana neighborhood show they died of blunt force trauma and compression asphyxiation.
A married couple who lived at the center of Wednesday’s explosion in Evansville, Charles Hite, 43, and Martina Hite, 37, both died of blunt force trauma to the chest, and neighbor Jessica Teague, 29, died of compression asphyxiation , the Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office said in a news release.
Final autopsy and toxicology reports are pending, Chief Deputy Coroner David Anson said in the news release.
The explosion injured a fourth person and damaged 39 houses, leaving 11 uninhabitable, authorities said.
In a statement Monday, the Evansville Fire Department said the investigation is still in its early stages and is likely to be lengthy.
“The very slow methodical process of the investigation began this morning,” EFD Division Chief Mike Larson said in the release. “The Indiana State Fire Department is leading this investigation and the Evansville Fire Department is assisting. Several insurance investigators were in town and the Evansville Police Department is assisting with interviews as they are needed along with site security.”
Suzanne Dabkowski, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said last week that the agency could not talk about any possible cause of the explosion. Dabkowski said ATF has explosives and firearms investigators on scene in Evansville assisting with the investigation.
Evansville officials declined to speculate whether natural gas or another problem was responsible for the explosion.
Evansville is on the Indiana-Kentucky border. The blast left debris, including wooden boards, window panes and insulation, scattered over a 100-foot (30-meter) radius.
CenterPoint Energy, the local gas company, said it is working with fire officials and other agencies as the investigation continues.
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