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Police: 1 Dead In Bloomington Car Fire

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (WCCO) -- Police are investigating what caused a car in Bloomington to go up in flames Wednesday morning. One person died in the fire, which traffic cameras were able to capture on tape.

Authorities said at this point they still don't know what caused the fire. Officials said it's a unique situation because they do know the fire was not caused by a car accident. The person in the vehicle was trapped inside as the flames engulfed the vehicle and ultimately, they were not able to get out.

Police responded to a call from a witness who saw the fire around 8:15 a.m. near the area of 86th Street and Old Cedar Avenue.  Bloomington Police, Firefighters and the bomb squad also responded to the scene. The Bomb squad was called in as a precaution because police said witnesses heard at least one explosion coming from the vehicle.

Authorities said one person was in the car when it burned and have not yet identified the person as a man or woman. Police said the incident is under investigation.

"It is a little unusual. There was no accident that precipitated this or anything, we've got investigators on the scene that will work with fire investigators and try to determine what happened," said Bloomington Police Commander Mark Stehlik.

While police are still investigating exactly what caused this car fire, they said they think those explosions witnesses heard may have just been the airbags popping. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office has not yet released the name of the victim.

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