Enbridge Gas has suspended all pipe removals across Ontario after a Toronto house explosion Monday that is believed to have killed one of the homeowners.

The gas company says it needs to learn more about the cause of the blast before continuing with a standpipe removal program in areas the company services in the Niagara, central and eastern regions.

A firefighter stands by a truck as the remains of a house burn in the background in Toronto on Wednesday.
(Aaron Harris/Canadian Press)

"At this time, we don't know the cause of the incident and that will be determined over time through an investigation," Enbridge spokeswoman Lisa McCarney said Friday. "However, we have stopped work on standpipe removal until the cause is identified."

Investigators were still sifting through the rubble of the razed Harper Gardens home Friday to find the remains of 46-year-old Jyoti Moorthy, who is missing and feared dead.

Moorthy's husband, Sridhar, and two young children were not at home when the explosion happened around 11 a.m. ET Wednesday.

Jyoti had returned home to let an Enbridge contractor in for scheduled maintenance, the Globe and Mail reported. 

The contractor was removing an indoor standpipe, which connects the gas supply from the street to a meter inside.

Neighbours managed to pull the contractor from the wreckage. He is still in hospital with second-degree burns.

Ontario's fire marshal is investigating the cause of the blast.