ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — "There are kids in the house! We're calling 911," Nichole Thomas said to her neighbors after her next door neighbor's home exploded just after 1 a.m. Friday morning.
Thomas said she frantically raced outside after the explosion ignited a huge fire near Black Jack.
"We're running, screaming, crying! It was chaos," Thomas said about the scene.
Thomas shared cell phone video of the burning house near Parker Road and North Ranch Drive in unincorporated north St. Louis County.
She said the blast immediately rattled her out of bed.
"People were everywhere. Lots of children were running and people were all over. The house was just in flames," she recalled.
"My heart breaks for them. I've been crying all afternoon," said neighbor, Nichole Thomas.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and battled the two-alarm fire.
St. Louis County Police and Bomb and Arson investigators also arrived.
Investigators said the explosion destroyed the four-bedroom brick house, levelled the family's garage, killed two people and critically injured four others.
The blast also demolished two cars that were parked in the family's driveway, and scattered debris in the front yard.
Investigators also said they found the body of one of the victims in the home's front yard.
"I'm just loss for words," said a woman, who identified herself as the six victims' cousin. She wished to remain anonymous in this report.
She said the young man, whose body was discovered in the yard, just celebrated his 18th birthday on Monday.
"It's just unreal. I have lost family members who are dear to me," she said.
"My cousin, he was a good kid, and this is hard. It's just mind-wrecking. I ask people to pray for my entire family," the cousin said.
Some neighbors believe homemade fireworks may have sparked the home explosion.
Black Jack Fire Chief Ken Corbin tells 5 On Your Side St. Louis County Bomb and Arson investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the deadly blast.
"We don't really know what happened. I'm just worried about my family members," said the cousin.
As of Friday night, investigators had not released any additional details about the victims or the explosion.