In Indianapolis, Search For Answers Continues After Massive Explosion

"As the investigation into the deadly explosion on the south side of Indianapolis on Saturday night continues, the city is hoping to answer questions for the nearly three dozen families who still haven't been allowed to return to their homes," WISH-TV reports.

The station adds that:

"The exact cause of the explosion has yet to be discovered, though Rep. Andre Carson [D] said Homeland Security investigators' preliminary findings indicate it was not a bomb or a meth lab. Citizens Energy has said thus far they have found no indication of a gas leak prior to the explosion."

At least two people were killed. As The Associated Press reports, "the blast was so loud it woke people as far as three miles away, triggering thoughts of a plane crash or earthquake." According to The Indianapolis Star, five homes were "destroyed or nearly destroyed, an additional 26 homes [were] significantly damaged [and] 200 people [were] forced from their homes." There were at least seven people injured.

Update at 1 p.m. ET. Furnace To Blame?

"The ex-husband of the woman whose house is thought to be at the center of Saturday's massive explosion on the city's Far Southside said he suspects a furnace problem led to the blast," the Star now reports. "John Shirley, whose ex-wife Monserrate Shirley lives at the home with their 12 year-old-daughter, said he got a text from his daughter about a week-and-a-half ago telling him the heat was out and they were spending the night elsewhere. 'I bet you anything that's why it happened,' he said."

According to the newspaper, no one was inside that home at the time of the blast. The two people thought to have been killed were in one of the neighboring homes.

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