EDITOR’S NOTE: The name of a source of information has been corrected.
MARIES COUNTY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A 58-year-old man was killed Tuesday morning when a house exploded near Vienna.
Maries County Deputy Scott John said Wayne Boeckman was killed in the explosion.
First responders were sent to the home off Highway V in Maries County at about 3 a.m., John said, and tried to confirm if Boeckman was home at the time of the blast.
“We were able to confirm around 6 a.m that he was home, the fire department got some equipment on scene and did excavation of the resident till they found his body,” John said.
Boeckman’s body was found in the basement. An autopsy will be performed in Columbia.
Investigators believe a propane tank is what triggered the explosion.
“You can tell by looking at it it’s a very large compressed explosion, suspected to be propane as the fuel source the ignition is still being determined,” John said.
The blast scattered debris over a large area, including in trees around the house. A mattress, pillows, bricks and family pictures were visible in the debris that scattered the area.
Leeann Lee, who lives nearby, said she felt the explosion and that it woke her up.
“It rattled all the pictures in my house it was pretty scary,” Lee said.
Sheriff Chris Heitman shared on Facebook that the Missouri Propane Commission and the Missouri Fire Marshal’s Office are helping in the investigation. Foul play is not suspected, he wrote.
Vienna Fire Department volunteers spent more than seven hours recovering Boeckman’s body, Heitman wrote.
