House explosion kills 2 in Chicago suburb

[September 08, 2008]  FRANKFORT (AP) -- Authorities in northern Illinois say an explosion has destroyed a house, and the bodies of the elderly couple who occupied the home have been found in the wreckage.

The mayor of the Chicago suburb of Frankfort says he knows of no other injuries from the Saturday morning blast.

Officials say at least seven other homes in the neighborhood were damaged or destroyed.

Mayor Jim Holland says the dead couple were longtime residents of Frankfort, a town about 25 miles southwest of Chicago.

Investigators did not immediately say if they suspect a natural gas leak in the explosion, but representatives of the gas distribution company Nicor are at the scene.

[Associated Press]

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