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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Gas explosion destroys city house | Gas explosion destroys city house |
| (about 19 hours later) | |
| Forty people were evacuated from a street in Birmingham in a gas explosion which destroyed an unoccupied house. | Forty people were evacuated from a street in Birmingham in a gas explosion which destroyed an unoccupied house. |
| The blast happened at 1540 BST on Holly Road, in the Handsworth area of the city. A contractor working at the house was accounted for. | The blast happened at 1540 BST on Holly Road, in the Handsworth area of the city. A contractor working at the house was accounted for. |
| Ambulance crews stood down after search and rescue teams searched through the wreckage with imaging cameras and sniffer dogs. | Ambulance crews stood down after search and rescue teams searched through the wreckage with imaging cameras and sniffer dogs. |
| An emergency rest centre was set up at the nearby Handsworth Leisure Centre. | An emergency rest centre was set up at the nearby Handsworth Leisure Centre. |
| The building where the blast happened was under reconstruction. | The building where the blast happened was under reconstruction. |
| Police said the incident involved "a severe explosion and a small fire in an end-terraced Victorian property". | Police said the incident involved "a severe explosion and a small fire in an end-terraced Victorian property". |
| "The one property has been destroyed and structural damage has been caused to adjoining properties," a spokesman said. | "The one property has been destroyed and structural damage has been caused to adjoining properties," a spokesman said. |
| One eyewitness told the BBC: "It just looks like a bomb's hit it. It's collapsed in on itself. | One eyewitness told the BBC: "It just looks like a bomb's hit it. It's collapsed in on itself. |
| "There's bricks and rubble strewn across the side of the street. There's big black smoke everywhere." | |