A child has died and four people have been injured after a suspected gas explosion in Lancashire last night completely destroyed two terraced houses and badly damaged a third.
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said 10 units were called to a row of homes on Mallowdale Avenue in Heysham at around 2.30am on Sunday and that a major incident has been declared.
Firefighters are searching the collapsed property while police said a safety cordon had been put in place and nearby residents have been evacuated in the town some 25 miles north-east of Blackpool.
In a statement on Twitter this morning, Lancashire Constabulary confirmed that a young child was killed in the blast and that four other people have been injured, two seriously.
‘We remain at scene of a suspected gas explosion on Mallowdale Ave, Heysham, which has caused two houses to collapse and badly damaged another,’ the force said. ‘Sadly, we can now confirm a young child has died and four other people have been injured, two seriously. Our thoughts are with all those affected.’
Several residents previously tweeted that up to three houses had collapsed, and that emergency services sirens had been heard near the scene of the explosion for a prolonged time.
Dan Knowles, who lives four streets away, said he thought there had been an earthquake. ‘My wife and I thought there was an earthquake which woke us, the whole house shook,’ he told the PA news agency.
‘We immediately checked on our kids and got back in bed. We then heard sirens and my wife checked Facebook, when we found out that there’d been a gas explosion. We stayed indoors and switched everything off at the source and then sat up all night worrying.’
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service tweeted last night: ‘A major incident has been declared after we (were) called to terraced houses on Mallowdale Avenue. It has been reported that there has been an explosion at a property and firefighters are searching the collapsed property.’
MP David Morris, who represents Morecambe and Lunesdale, said on Twitter: ‘My thoughts and prayers are with all of the families on Mallowdale Avenue following the incident this morning. Thank you to all of the emergency services who are currently on the scene.’
A major incident has been declared after a suspected gas explosion reportedly destroyed up to three terraced houses on Mallowdale Avenue in Heysham, Lancashire last night
Emergency services at Mallowdale Avenue in Heysham, Lancashire this morning
Emergency services at Mallowdale Avenue in Heysham, Lancashire this morning
Lancashire Fire said on Twitter that 10 units were called to a row of homes on Mallowdale Avenue around 2.30am on Sunday and that firefighters were searching a collapsed property
Lancashire Police said a safety cordon had been put in place and nearby residents had been evacuated in the town some 25 miles north-east of Blackpool
A major incident has been declared after a suspected gas explosion in Heysham
In a statement, a Lancashire Police spokesman said: ‘We are currently at the scene of a suspected gas explosion on Littledale Avenue, Heysham.
‘A safety cordon has been put in place and nearby residents have been evacuated. We are asking people to please avoid the entire area while we deal with this ongoing incident.’
Describing the suspected gas explosion, Knowles tweeted: ‘There’s been a terrible explosion on Mallowdale Ave in #Heysham sounds disastrous, 3 houses collapsed, praying for everyone.
‘We woke about 2:30am and thought it was an earthquake at first. We’re about 4 streets up in Heysham and could feel it.’
A neighbour whose home was close to the blast said: ‘We are all fine just shaken and worried about the house as we have no door or windows and the roof’s damaged.’
Emergency services at Mallowdale Avenue in Heysham, Lancashire this morning
Neighbours reported that up to three houses were destroyed in the suspected gas explosion
The North West Ambulance Service tweeted that it had also sent units to the scene
Emergency services at Mallowdale Avenue in Heysham, Lancashire this morning
Local MP David Morris tweeted: ‘My thoughts and prayers are with all of the families on Mallowdale Avenue following the incident this morning. Thank you to all of the emergency services who are currently on the scene’
Electricity North West tweeted that it had paused electricity supplies to the area
Another neighbour told the Mirror: ‘It’s blown my windows, front door and roof.’
Taxi driver Anthony Davis, 58, called the blast ‘like a minor earthquake’, telling the Mirror that his caravan shook a quarter of a mile away.
‘From what we gather it’s taken two or three houses with it,’ he said. ‘We live a quarter of a mile away and it shook our caravan – we thought something had hit it.
‘We’ve got our little granddaughters staying overnight. We didn’t know what it was.’
The North West Ambulance Service tweeted that it had also sent units to the scene, with a priority to ‘ensure people receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible’.
The Service tweeted: ‘Following reports of an explosion on Mallowdale Avenue, #Heysham, we have resources at the scene and we are working with @LancashireFRS and @LancsPolice’.
Electricity North West tweeted that it had paused electricity supplies to the area for safety reasons while the blast was being investigated.
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