Firefighters responding to Beaufort car fire find body inside

State and local authorities are investigating a death in downtown Beaufort related to a car fire.

Firefighters responded to the 1000 block of Greene Street just before noon on Friday to find a car on fire between two homes. After the fire was extinguished, a body was discovered in the car, Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Chief Reece Bertholf said.

S.C. Law Enforcement Division officers and Beaufort police are investigating. The scene was across the street from Washington Street Park.

A blue tarp shielded the scene from the street on Friday afternoon. The block was cordoned off with yellow tape as investigators worked.

Beaufort County Coroner Ed Allen declined to release a cause of death or identity on Friday. An autopsy is scheduled for Saturday, he said.

A neighbor said he heard multiple loud explosions in the area Friday morning that sounded like hand grenades.

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Firefighters responding to Beaufort car fire find body inside."