Birmingham: Woman found dead and man left with life threatening injuries after house destroyed in gas explosion
A number of neighbours who got the injured man out of the devastated property are described by firefighters as "heroic".
Monday 27 June 2022 15:42, UK
A woman has died and a man has life-threatening injuries after a house in Birmingham was destroyed in a gas explosion.
A number of neighbours who got the injured man out of the devastated property have been described by police and firefighters as "heroic".
In an early afternoon update, police said the man remained in a "critical" condition.
West Midlands Ambulance Service earlier described his condition as "life-threatening".
He managed to tell officers there was a woman inside the house before being taken to hospital.
A mid-terraced house was destroyed, while six properties are "seriously affected", Area Commander Alex Shapland from West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) said.
Structural engineers are on site.
Twenty-one people were evacuated from the area following the blast at about 8.30pm on Sunday and have gone to stay with family or in hotels.
Investigation likely to take some time
The woman who died was "identified relatively quickly within the property", WMFS incident commander Martin Ward-White said.
It is not clear which part of the house she was in before the blast happened, he added.
"On arrival it was clear that a gas explosion had taken place," Mr Ward-White said.
An investigation looking for the cause is likely to take some time.
Four other men suffered minor injuries and were treated by ambulance crews at the scene.
'I still have blood on my jeans'
Residents told how they pulled the badly injured man from the ruins, clambering past flaming debris, through dust and rubble to reach him.
Chief Inspector Kelly Monaghan, from West Midlands Police, said there were "some really heroic actions from members of the community last night", a sentiment echoed by Mr Ward-White.
James, who did not want to give his surname, told Sky News: "Running down, I saw the house on fire. I'd heard that someone was in the back, trapped.
"Everyone was running. I ran into the house, through the back and I was helping everyone moving all the debris to get the man out.
"There was quite a lot of us. We were just doing our part.
"I heard that there was a woman in there too. Everyone's gutted. It was a rough night."
Another man, who declined to give his name, said: "Everyone was watching - the house was on fire, nobody was going in.
"We could see a way in - so we went in to the house, me and about a dozen others.
"There was a guy in the back (of the house). 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."
'Really really scary'
Kashif Mahmoud, who was driving past with his wife and two young children as the explosion happened, said his car had been badly damaged.
Fortunately, the family escaped with only minor cuts.
Mr Mahmoud told Sky News: "All the air bags came out and all the windows were broken."
He added: "I thought something had happened to the car. (It was) really really scary and shocking."
Explosion was 'massive'
Rick Payne, a city councillor for the ward, heard a "massive explosion" while watching television shortly after 8.30pm and walked across to Dulwich Road to see what had happened.
"I recognised that as probably most likely to be a gas explosion," he said.
"The house itself, where the explosion occurred, has physically been destroyed. Houses either side have, partially. Then the houses further along the street have been damaged collaterally from the blast."
WMFS said it was working with West Midlands Police, West Midlands Ambulance Service, Cadent Gas and the National Grid to manage the incident.
Six fire crews, three ambulances, five paramedic officers and a National Inter-Agency Liaison officer were among the resources deployed.