One person killed in house explosion

A man was killed in a house explosion Tuesday afternoon in the Whitman community of Logan County.

After the explosion, neighbors say the home was engulfed in flames.

It happened about 2:30 p.m. along the intersection of Whitman Creek Road and Nascar Drive.

The Cora Fire Department says the victim was an elderly man.

After the fire was put out, crews found his body by the fireplace.

"It sounded like an airplane hit the house," neighbor Franklin Darby said.

"It just sounded like a bomb going off," neighbor Michael Evans said. "It shook the house."

Neighbors say after they heard the explosion, they ran to the house to try to help the elderly man who lived there, but the flames were already too strong.

"We tried to get to the house to see if anybody was in it to see if we could help them, but we could only get so close," Evans said.

"By the time we got here it was already engulfed," Darby said. "I mean, the house was already gone."

They say a man in his 70s lived there alone.

"He would take his walks, and he would always come around the house," Evans said. "He would pet the dogs and just keep on walking down the road. He'd go for a walk about every day. It was heartbreaking. It really was. I've known him for a while. He was a great guy."

The heat caused damage to neighboring homes.

The State Fire Marshal is investigating. There's no word yet on a cause.