TAYLOR, Mich. – An elderly woman and her daughter were killed Wednesday afternoon in a house explosion in Taylor, according to the victims' family.
The explosion happened in the 6800 block of Buck Street, just off of Telegraph Road.
Neighbors said they heard a loud explosion, but they didn't know where it came from. About 15 minutes later, they said they saw smoke coming from the side of the ranch house.
Cellphone video shows the intensity of the smoke and fire. You can see the footage in the video posted above.
One neighbor, Terri Slayden, ran to the home, but couldn't get in through the front door.
"It was just a little bit on fire," Slayden said. "When I opened it up, this big cloud came in my face. I closed it real quick and I ran back. As I was running over there, I told my mom to call 911."
Police said the daughter was pronounced dead at the scene and the elderly woman was taken to the hospital. EMTs were giving the woman chest compressions while en route, but she didn't make it.
The daughter was sitting in the living room when the explosion happened, and firefighters didn't even know she was there until they put the fire out, officials said.
"We were just cleaning out our call, when all of a sudden we heard a big boom," neighbor James Tittle said. "We thought it was coming from that way. We didn't know if it was an oxygen tank or a firecracker or a gun. We had no idea."
Firefighters are still trying to figure out what caused the explosion. They said it does not appear to be natural gas related.
Stay with Local 4 and ClickonDetroit.com as more information becomes available.