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Man killed in welding van blast Driver dies in welding van blast
(about 1 hour later)
A man is thought to have died when a van carrying welding equipment exploded in a County Durham market town. A driver transporting welding equipment was killed when his van exploded in a County Durham market town.
Windows in shops and homes were left shattered and wreckage was strewn across the town centre of Wolsingham, near Bishop Auckland, in County Durham. Windows in shops and homes were left shattered and wreckage was strewn across the centre of Wolsingham, near Bishop Auckland.
Houses near the scene were evacuated after the blast, which happened at 0700 BST on Saturday. Homes near the scene were evacuated after the blast, which happened at 0700 BST on Saturday.
The explosion happened after the driver stopped the van, which was carrying oxy-acetylene cylinders, near shops. It is not yet known what caused the oxy-actylene cylinders to explode when the driver stopped his van near shops.
BBC Radio Cleveland's Matthew Barraclough, who is at the scene, said: "There was a very large explosion indeed. It woke up pretty much everyone in the town at the same time. A Durham Police spokesman said: "We can confirm the van driver died in the incident.
"People who live in the market square and the homes surrounding that have been evacuated. One woman I spoke to said she was not going to be allowed back into her house for 24 hours. "The entire market place area has been sealed off for safety reasons."
"We don't know if any buildings have been damaged structurally but that's one of the factors the emergency services are taking into consideration." No details of the victim were being released, he added.
One resident said the van was obliterated in the explosion, which sounded "like a bomb going off".
In pictures: Wolsingham blast
Speaking from the scene, BBC Radio Cleveland's Matthew Barraclough said: "There was a very large explosion indeed. It woke up pretty much everyone in the town at the same time.
"People who live in the market square and the homes surrounding that have been evacuated.
"One woman I spoke to said she was not going to be allowed back into her house for 24 hours."
It is not yet known if any of the buildings in the immediate area of the explosion suffered structural damage.
A spokesman for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said crews could be at the scene throughout the day until the cylinders had cooled down.
He said: "We believe there are cylinders involved and we need to be very careful. They can take up to 24 hours to cool and that's our priority at the moment."
No-one else is thought to have been hurt in the explosion, on the A689.No-one else is thought to have been hurt in the explosion, on the A689.
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