A woman has been taken to hospital in Sunderland after a huge gas explosion blew her house apart.
Susan Shepherd is stable despite burns, after being rescued by firefighters from the property. Her sister, Tracey Judson said that she had been saved by the fridge, which fell on top of her.
Judson said on Facebook that her sister was conscious and talking after the blast. "To everyone concerned about the explosion in Roslyn Ave, there must be a god somewhere. How the hell can anyone survive that explosion?" she wrote.
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"My sister Susan has been airlifted to hospital. She was conscious and talking - that's all I know for now. Thanks for everyone's kind words. Her daughter was with her dad."
She added: "The fridge fell on top of her and saved her life. She's absolutely fine under the circumstances, she's got minor burns to her back, face and arms and might need stitching, thank God."
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The ambulance service confirmed that firefighters had rescued one person, who was taken to the Royal Victoria hospital in Newcastle upon Tyne.
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Residents in the area were shocked when they went outside to investigating after hearing a loud bang.
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Alan Emerson, who lives two doors down from the house, described the events to the Guardian.
"It sounded like a bomb going off. It shook the entire house, it shook all the houses. I actually thought my roof had come down and when I went out to the back, there was debris everywhere - slates, tiles, you name it, everywhere," he said.
"I thought it was my roof, but when I came out I could hear people shouting. When I came out on to the street I realised straight away we'd had an explosion. There was a house literally missing. People were trying to get in, but we had to get out because we smelled gas everywhere."
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Mr Emerson also said that the next-door neighbours must have been at work when the blast happened and that it had caused considerable damage to their house.
"One half of a semi is entirely demolished and the other one is in a dangerous situation. There's debris all over the street, people's cars, people's roofs, mine included," he said.
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"My car's damaged and everybody's cars around there are damaged. The front door from one of the houses is in the garden opposite me. I've lived here a long, long time, and we've never had anything like this. It's something you only see on TV once in a while."
A North East Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: "We were called to the Rosslyn Avenue area of Ryhope at 8.48am. We dispatched our hazardous area response team (Hart) and two officers, and requested support from Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).
"Working with our emergency service colleagues, we rescued and treated one patient suffering burns, who was in a serious but stable condition.
"We have taken the casualty to the Newcastle Royal Victoria infirmary by paramedic ambulance with the GNAAS doctor on board. Our Hart officers currently remain on scene to continue to support Northumbria police and Tyne and Wear fire."
Source: BBC News, The Guardian