August 05, 2023
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The dead body of a missing person from the home explosion in Buena, Atlantic County, was found on Friday, police said.
A fourth dead body was recovered following a home explosion in South Jersey on Friday, police said.
"Everyone is accounted for,” Franklin Township Police Chief Michael DeCesari said.
According to 6ABC, the four people were a 2-year-old boy, a 3-year-old girl, a 52-year-old man, and a 73-year-old man. None of their identities have been revealed.
Two others, a 16-year-old girl and a 1-year-old girl, were taken to the hospital with burns. The 16-year-old is in stable condition, and the baby is in critical condition, Penn Live reported.
The blast occurred at 10:35 a.m. at home on the 300 block of Northwest Boulevard in Buena Borough, Atlantic County.
The cause of the explosion is unknown and is being investigated as a crime until further information is revealed, DeCasri said. Franklin Township Police and the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office are leading the investigation, with help from local fire companies, the FBI, and ATF.
"This is a criminal investigation, (we're in) the infant stages of that investigation, and any information regarding anyone involved, we're not going to release at this time," DeCasari said.
Multiple homes were damaged by the explosion, and some of the damage forced people to leave their houses.
"There are at least two houses displaced at this time that I know of that were in very close proximity to where the blast was, and they had fire damage, windows knocked out, so not habitable at this point," DeCasari said.
