A woman has sadly died after her home was completely destroyed as a result of a gas explosion in Birmingham.
Just after 8:30pm on Sunday (26 June), a gas explosion in Kingstanding, Birmingham ignited, destroying one house and damaging several others.
One woman was found dead at the scene, West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed, with another man in the destroyed house being miraculously rescued when neighbours braved the burning debris and pulled him from the rubble.
"We're very sad to confirm that a woman has been found dead at the scene," West Midlands Fire Service said. The woman is yet to be formally identified.
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The ambulance service confirmed that the man who was rescued from the destroyed building was sent to hospital with 'very significant injuries', with a spokesperson describing his condition as 'life threatening'.
Four other people at the scene were treated for minor injuries by ambulance crews and not taken to hospital.
One of the neighbours, who asked not to be named, told Birmingham Live how he and others went into the wreckage and managed to rescue the man.
He said: "Everyone was watching, the house was on fire, nobody was going in, so we could see a way in - so we went in the house, me and about a dozen others.
"There was a guy in the back, we could hear the guy screaming, but he was trapped up against the fridge in the kitchen. The dust from the loft insulation was burning around us."
"We managed to get to him, and pull him out - I still have his blood on my jeans. We got him out, he ended up coming out on a mattress, but he was saying there was a woman in the house."
The neighbours who went in broke water pipes to keep their own clothes damp and protect themselves from the fire.
Neighbours who rushed in were able to save the man from the destroyed home before the emergency services arrived on the scene.
The explosion was reportedly audible from as far as two miles away, and ITV reported that one resident initially mistook it for an earthquake.
He described how the blast shook his house and shattered windows, while another neighbour said they thought a bomb had gone off at first.
Residents of several other houses in the area have been evacuated by the emergency services.
The police, Cadent Gas and the National Grid are part of the efforts to manage the aftermath of the explosion, with the scene described as 'challenging' by fire service area commander Steve Ball.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
Topics: UK News
Joe Harker