A gas leak is believed to be the cause of an explosion that destroyed a home in southern Saskatchewan on Wednesday.
RCMP were called to the scene of a house explosion in the town of Regina Beach at approximately 2:30 local time.
Regina Beach Mayor Cameron Hart told CTV News that the blast blew the house apart and damaged nearby buildings.
In a news release, SaskEnergy said investigators found an underground leak on the utility’s pipeline system that is “believed to be a contributing factor to the house explosion.”
Dave Burdeniuk, who works for the utility, said ground shifting may have caused a natural gas leak in a pipeline near the property.
Gas was shut to nearby homes and businesses as a repairs and a safety inspection got underway.
“We want to obviously get gas restored to any of the homes or businesses that have gas shut off because it is a cold night,” Burdeniuk said.
No injuries have been reported and no one was inside in the home at the time.
An employee at a local hardware store said the man and woman who lived in the house were in the store at the time of the explosion. They were shaken by the incident but otherwise unhurt.
Hart said earlier that he believed a gas leak had caused the blast.
“Nothing else would blow like that,” Hart said. “The blast was felt way out on the ice on the lake. It was felt, basically, all over town.”
Regina Beach is a lakeside town located approximately 55 kilometres northwest of Regina.
With files from The Canadian Press
