Pennsylvania

Smoking Wife Dies After Oxygen Tank Explodes in Pennsylvania Home

A woman who was severely burned over the weekend when her oxygen tank exploded while she was smoking inside her western Pennsylvania home has died.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office says 59-year-old Karen Tomko was pronounced dead early Monday at a Pittsburgh hospital.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports the Coraopolis woman was smoking in her home when the tank exploded late Sunday. The blast burned about 80 percent of her body.

Authorities say her 60-year-old husband burned his hands trying to help her.

The medical examiner's office ruled the death an accident.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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