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Oldham explosion: Search after blast damages homes | |
(40 minutes later) | |
One person has been taken to hospital with 80% burns following a large blast in the Shaw area of Oldham, the North West Ambulance Service has said. | One person has been taken to hospital with 80% burns following a large blast in the Shaw area of Oldham, the North West Ambulance Service has said. |
Greater Manchester Police said the explosion happened in Buckley Street shortly after 11:15 BST. | |
Police, fire and ambulance services are at the scene and there were "possibly people trapped", Greater Manchester Fire Service said. | Police, fire and ambulance services are at the scene and there were "possibly people trapped", Greater Manchester Fire Service said. |
Police and the fire service said it was a suspected gas explosion. | |
A fire service listening helicopter is at the scene trying to detect if people are trapped in the rubble. | |
The ambulance service said the burns victim had been taken to Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester. | |
The blast is believed to have damaged two terraced houses. | |
Shaw ward councillor Mark Alcock, who lives a quarter of a mile away, described the scene as "utter carnage". | |
'Loudest bang' | |
"An end terrace house has been completely flattened and properties up to 800m away have had their windows blown in," he said. | |
"It's a real mess… we understand there are people trapped in other properties," he added. | |
Peter Travis, who works nearby, said: "I heard the loudest bang you could ever hear, then I could see bits of slate going through the air like ticker tape. | |
"Bits of slate were landing near us about 250 metres away. | |
"I could then hear alarms going off and then a silence, it was absolutely frightening." | |
Other eye-witnesses half a mile away reported their homes were shaken by the explosion. |