Rhode Island officials vow to figure out what caused mysterious beach explosion

Rhode Island officials are determined to figure out what was behind an explosion at a beach Saturday that left a woman with broken ribs and a concussion.

Kathleen Danise, 60, was at Salty Brine State Beach in Narragansett when suddenly, she was launched into nearby rocks, ABC News reports. "She was like a human cannon," her sister, Laura Demartino, told WTNH. Officials say they are taking the matter seriously, and are concerned that they don't know what caused the explosion.

Janet Colt, director of the Rhode Island department of environmental management, said they're looking at cables below the sand that were "de-energized" in 2007, and officials aren't ruling out the possibility of an energized cable. Several beach goers said they smelled gas after the explosion, but a spokesman for National Grid said there are no gas lines along the beach. Rhode Island fire marshal Jack Chartier said there was no evidence of any explosives, but investigators are "leaving no stone unturned."

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