Saturday 28 May 2022 05:13 AM Brothers aged 10 and 12 are among five people killed in smalltown house ... trends now
Four young siblings aged between nine and 13 died in an exploding house that also killed their grandmother, and left a married couple critically-ill.
Police identified Jeremiah White, 12, and Nehemiah White, 10, as the two young boys who died in Thursday's blast in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, which still hasn't been explained.
Also killed were the boys' two siblings: Tristan, 9, and Alana, 13. The fifth person killed was the children's grandmother, Francine, 67, according to a Go Fund Me page set up by the dead siblings' older sister Destiny McKee.
The father of the four children killed in the blast and his wife are also critically-ill. Eugene White, 44, and his wife Kristina Matuzsan-White, 32, remain in hospital.
The explosion's cause is still being investigated, Borough Manager Justin Keller said at a news conference Friday.
All seven members of the family lived in the house at the time of the incident.
The blast occurred just after 8 p.m. on Thursday in the small town located just about 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia, on Washington Street and Butler Avenue. First responders arrived on the scene just after 7 p.m., following calls made by witnesses.
According to a GoFundMe page dedicated to the burial expenses of the victims, the four children who died in the home explosion are all identified in this picture - Jeremiah, 12, Nehemiah, 10, Tristan, 9, and Alana, 13
Jeremiah and Nehemiah White (left), 10 and 12 years old respectively, were among the five victims killed in the Pottstown, Pennsylvania, explosion on Thursday night
Eugene White (left), 44, and the father of all four deceased children, and Kristina Matuzsan-White (right) are said to be in critical condition
An old wedding photo posted by Matuzsan-White (center) shows her marriage to Eugene White (second from left), accompanied by the four children who died in the home explosion - Alana (first from right), Jeremiah and Nehemiah, and Tristan White
A pair of twin homes were reported to have also been destroyed, according to the Pottstown Mercury.
One local posting on a Facebook group for the area claimed the area had smelt strongly of gas several weeks ago, but there has been no confirmation that the explosion was gas-related and no connection between the home's gas line and propane tank have been found.
On Friday, Cathy McKee, shared the death of her sons, Jeremiah and Nehemiah, on Facebook.
'Today I learned that I lost my two youngest sons Jeremiah and
