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UK flooding: Video shows gas explosion in Greater Manchester as floodwater ruptures pipes

Floodwater washed away a bridge, disturbing a gas main which then caused an explosion in the Greater Manchester town of Radcliffe.

Ryan Ramgobin
Tuesday 29 December 2015 14:22 GMT
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Manchester gas fire

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Video has emerged showing a gas explosion in the Greater Manchester town of Radcliffe. The incident took place at around 3pm on Saturday afternoon.

A small bridge across the River Irwell was washed away by rushing floodwater. In the process, the crumbling bridge is believed to have disturbed a gas main under the surface, setting off a series of explosions.

The footage above shows people gathered around filming the flames bursting out of the ruptured pipes, before fleeing the explosions.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said the issue had been dealt with.

As Storm Frank hits the United Kingdom, the Met Office has issued yellow warnings covering large parts of Scotland, North West England and Wales.

Gusts of 55-65mph are predicted across the next few days in western parts of UK with exposed areas experiencing winds of up to 70-80mph.

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