Burnley explosion: House collapses after blast as two people rescued
Neighbours rescue a teenage girl and another 18-year-old is taken to hospital
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Your support makes all the difference.Two teenagers are in hospital after an explosion damaged a house in Lancashire.
Police said the house in Burnley had collapsed and several properties in the area had been evacuated.
A teenage girl was pulled from the rubble by a relative after the blast and an 18-year-old was rushed to hospital by airlift after “suffering major trauma”.
Images from the scene showed firefighters restabilising the part of the house that was still standing.
Sarah Jones who lives opposite the house, said she had been home when she heard a loud bang.
She said: “I came out and I just saw black smoke everywhere. I know the family who live there well and when I came outside their relatives were there.
“I asked if anyone was in there and they said the girl was. She’s 17.”
The girl has been taken to Royal Blackburn hospital for assessment.
Ms Jones described how neighbours got out a ladder and climbed up to the top two windows. They realised the teenage girl wasn’t upstairs but “she was in the front room and gon through into the cellar, through the floor.”
Ms Jones added: “She was covered in rubble and her relative had to pull her out from under everything.
“We brought her across to my house and she said she didn’t think she was injured, she was more worried about how her mum was going to react.
“She is very, very lucky.”
Local councillor Andy Fewings said 10 houses had been evacuated and residents were being told to a nearby church.
North West Ambulance Service said: “We’ve conveyed two patients to hospital. An 18-year-old man has been airlifted to Royal Preston Hospital suffering major trauma. A female patient was taken to Royal Blackburn for assessment.”
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said that one person had been rescued by neighbours and taken to hospital.
“We have three fire engines and our urban search and rescue team at the scene,” they said.
They suggested that some of the structure of the house is still intact, saying: “Firefighters at the scene are now using an aerial ladder platform to make the structure of the house safe by removing coping stones from gable end.”
Lancashire Police said in a statement: “Please be aware we are currently dealing with a house collapse on Sefton Terrace, in Burnley. Emergency services are at the scene and several properties have been evacuated.
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