Home explosion kills Illinois woman

OAKLAND, ILL (WTHI) - An explosion in Oakland, Illinois claimed the life of one woman.

The explosion occurred around 7:00 a.m. central time in Oakland, Illinois. Oakland is in Edgar County about 15 minutes west of Paris.

Windows blown out, shingles ripped off the roof, walls now stacked like sticks that is what was left of the Oakland, Illinois home.

"If you want to take a look at what a house may look like after a bomb got dropped down, that's about what it looks," Brocton, Illinois Fire Chief Virgil Haynes said.

Officials were notified of the explosion by a driver on S.R. 133.

"A passerby on 133 had called in and said there is a man standing out here along side the road flagging people down said the house just blowed up and his wife was trapped inside," Haynes said.

The man's wife was 62-year old Helen Ball, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

"We really hadn't had a chance to interview the gentleman yet, he was still in kind of shock," Haynes said.

Officials say the husband only suffered minor physical injuries from the blast.

"You can still see a lot of the wood from the house out on the road and there is a lot of glass so it was a powerful explosion," Haynes said.

The cause of the explosion will not be released until the state Fire Marshall's office completes their investigation, which is expected to take two weeks.