Three dead after Black Powder Device Explodes near Starved Rock State Park

Black Powder device exploded along the banks of the Illinois River

NORTH UTIKA, ILL. – Three men died in an explosion near Starved Rock State Park Thursday evening, the LaSalle County coroner’s office confirmed Friday.

Authorities said the explosion came from a black powder device along the bank of the Illinois River.

First responders were called to the area of the Starved Rock State Park boat ramp at about 7:20 p.m. After more than five hours of searching, emergency crews found the bodies of three men.

“With assistance from the state police, the Kane County Bomb squad Unit and the FBI, it was determined that the individuals appeared to have ignited a type of black Powder substance along an area near the river bank,” LaSalle County Coroner Rich Ploch said in a statement.

Ploch confirmed all three died from injuries related to the explosion, but the final cause and manner of death is pending autopsy results.

The man’s have not been released yet.

The explosion occurred about 75 miles Southwest of Chicago.

Read : Andrew Yang plan to hike taxes on empty commercial lots