Woman killed by gender reveal announcement

A gender reveal announcement in Iowa resulted in an explosion that left one woman dead over the weekend, authorities say.

According to a news release from the Marion County Sheriff's Office, at around 4:03 pm on Saturday, police responded to a report that a woman in her fifties had been severely injured in an explosion in rural Knoxville, which is about 40 miles southeast of Des Moines.

When officers arrived at the scene of the explosion, the 56-year-old woman - whose name has not been released - was pronounced dead.

Find out more about the tragic incident in the news report below:

CNN reports that the ensuing investigation found a gender reveal announcement resulted in the explosion. As a result of the incident, the woman was struck by a flying piece of debris, according to the press release.

The press release reads: "The Marion County Sheriff's office received a 911 call of an explosion. A gender reveal announcement resulted in the explosion which caused a flying piece of debris to strike the victim." It is not yet clear what exactly exploded and how.

It did not take long for word to spread through Knoxville. KCCI's Marcus McIntosh went to the town to see how the tight-knit community over there was reacting to the tragic news:

KCCI spoke with Gary Roozeboom, a retired pastor who has lived in Knoxville for more than two decades. He told McIntosh, "I'm sure no one thought that this could end tragically. Who would have thought?

"My heart just sank for the family," he added. "I mean it's something that's supposed to be fun and exciting. You have your family there and then in an instant everything changes."

Several agencies are still investigating including the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. No further information has been released at this time.