Police have identified the woman who died and the man who was injured in an explosion Tuesday at a house in Charlotte's Ballantyne area.
Rania Karam, 58, was killed when her home on James Jack Lane exploded around 1:45 p.m. The man, Jebran Karam, was seriously injured in the explosion.
The fire department says it took rescuers about seven hours find Rania Karam in the debris.
First responders were able to find Jebran Karam after he called 911 while trapped in the home and gave his location, according to the department. He was airlifted by helicopter to the hospital with what officials described as life-threatening injuries.
Firefighters said Tuesday night they’re confident the Karams were the only people in the house during the explosion.
The house was leveled in the explosion, which also damaged nearby homes.
Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the blast. In a statement sent Wednesday morning, Piedmont Natural Gas said technicians checked gas lines in the area and did not detect any natural gas leaks.
