A terraced house was destroyed and a 70-year-old woman has been left seriously injured after a suspected ‘gas explosion’ erupted near a primary school that has forced many homes to be evacuated.
Students and staff were evacuated from St Luke’s Primary School in Bury, with the suspected explosion at a property on Nelson Street in Fishpool.
At The Scene
Pictures show clouds of smoke billowing across nearby streets with the terraced red-brick house reduced to rubble, with its wooden roof beams exposed.
Number of Victims
The elderly woman has been rushed to hospital and a police cordon remains around the property and neighbouring houses.
Footage shows the house, just yards away from the school, engulfed in flames. Bury Council told residents on the street to keep their windows closed due to the amount of smoke.
Shocked and concerned locals can be seen walking around the street, watching the blaze rip through the terraced property.
Councillor Tamoor Tariq, who represents Redvales Ward in the Greater Manchester town, said on social media that school has decided to close.
He wrote: ‘St Luke’s Primary has taken the decision to close due to conditions in the school deteriorating where the fire has affected electricity going into the school. All parents have been informed.’
