Vienna  - Rescue teams in western Austria found the body of one person in a family home destroyed in a blast earlier on Monday, the Austrian Press Agency said.

Officials speaking at a press conference in the village of Imst in the western Austrian province of Tyrol said they could not yet confirm that the remains were those of a missing 69-year-old woman believed to have lived in the house.

Police were not yet able to determine whether the explosion, which completely destroyed the house, was an accident or on purpose.

The building is located in a densely settled residential area.

An intense family feud over the property preceded the blast, the village's mayor was quoted as saying.

The missing woman, who should have been evicted from her house on Monday, was reportedly seen buying several canisters of petrol. (dpa)