At least ten people have been injured - three seriously - after an explosion ripped through a terraced house in Greater Manchester early on Tuesday morning.
The property collapsed following the blast, leaving bricks, broken glass, and furniture strewn across Curzon Street in Ashton-under-Lyne.
The emergency services were called to the scene at 5.10am as a fire raged within the building.
Six fire engines attended the scene and crews have turned off gas and electricity supplies at the property and four neighbouring ones.
Three of the victims were inside the house when it exploded, with the Manchester Evening News reporting that another was found by fire crews on a mattress outside the property.
It adds one resident jumped from the roof of the house to escape, while a couple leaped from an upstairs bedroom window.
They have been named as John, 63, and Hazel Wilson, 53, and their daughter Danielle, 22, is believed to have leapt from the roof of the building. The family are believed to have suffered severe lacerations and burns and were taken to hospital.
Nearby resident Carmel O’Neill told the BBC said heard “this big, massive explosion”.
“I just saw loads and loads of smoke in the air.”
Another resident Charlotte Lisle, who lives a few streets away, told the broadcaster her home “shook” with the blast.
“It was like a bomb went off - it woke the whole street.
“There were proper high flames.”
Emma Cooney lived at the Curzon Road house next door to the Wilsons, with children Leah, five, and Corey, 10. Her brother Mick and sister Amanda Wheeler were also living there.
Their home has now been destroyed and the Manchester Evening News reported that Emma did not have insurance.
She told the newspaper: “We know so little at the moment, we are just sad. We’ve lost a lot and we don’t know what firefighters will be able to save. We hope we will get our pictures back.”
Greater Manchester Fire Station Manager Alan Ashworth, incident commander at the scene, said: “We were called initially to a fire and when crews arrived there were a number of people injured on the floor and it was obvious there had been an explosion in the house.
“We helped them but they were later treated by paramedics from North West Ambulance Service while we tackled the fire using covering jets.
“We are now aware that there are at least 10 casualties. Some are suffering with burns and lacerations. We don’t have full details of the casualties, but we now know three people were inside the property at the time of the explosion.
“Some people were also injured while helping to rescue people. We had one person who brought a mattress for one of the casualties to get out.
“We have stabilising equipment on both sides of the building as there is a potential risk of collapse. We are aware of two collapses so far and therefore are trying to prevent another. Therefore the cordon and road closures will remain in place for now.
“We don’t yet know the cause of the explosion and our fire investigation team are at the scene working with the police.”
Road closures are in place on Curzon Road from Halford Street and White Acre Road.