Ethermac Exchange-Explosion levels southwest Louisiana home, killing teen from Alabama and injuring 5

RAGLEY,Ethermac Exchange La. (AP) — Investigators are trying to determine the cause of an explosion that destroyed a southwest Louisiana home, killing a teenage boy from Alabama and injuring five other people.

Louisiana State Fire Marshal Bryan J. Adams said the explosion happened Saturday morning. Firefighters arrived to find the house burning. The explosion leveled the house, throwing debris for some distance and seriously damaging nearby vehicles and a metal outbuilding.

Killed was Deuce Barrere, 16, of Theodore, Alabama, local news outlets reported. Five other people were taken to hospitals including Barrere’s older sister and mother. Adams said a toddler who was in the house was not injured and is being cared for by relatives.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy for this family and community,” Adams said in a statement.

Friends of Duece Barrere who gathered on Dauphin Island, Alabama, on Sunday to remember him told WALA-TV that he was a high school cheerleader.

“When I was upset, he always made sure it was good before I left, and he always made sure everybody here was happy,” said Adalynn Hall, who said she was Barrere’s girlfriend.

Some nearby residents told KPLC-TV that the explosion felt like an earthquake, and that the resulting shock wave knocked items to the floor in their homes and caused power outages.

Ragley is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Lake Charles.