A man was sent flying through the air by a huge underground gas explosion. CCTV footage shows the moment a worker was blown off his feet by the blast while building a fence on a farm.
The incident took place on Tuesday (June 21) in Wessington, near Alfreton, Derbyshire. In the clip the contractor can be seen scrambling to safety after the machinery he was using struck a gas main, causing the explosion.
Fire crews rushed to the scene along with gas engineers to make the area safe as gas leaked from the ruptured pipe. Nearby 30 homes had to be evacuated.
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The dramatic scenes were captured on resident Alan Brown's security cameras, who said the man walked away completely unscathed but a "little shook up". He said: "I watched back the CCTV footage and just thought 'Jesus Christ'. The noise of the blast was incredible.
"The guy who owns the farm only bought it a year ago. The contractor was putting fences in. They’ve bought six fields in total and he was working on the last one. It looks like he’d put his hand down to reach for something that was blocking the post.
“He goes to get a metal spike out of his machinery and that’s what went through the pipe I believe. It looked like a big pin, a round plate on the top and a big spike going down. You can see that even bounces up before it explodes.
“He's a very lucky bloke. He was completely fine but obviously a little shook up. I can't believe he walked away uninjured, it must have come as quite a shock. There were about 30 gas vans on site with two blokes in each. It was a massive response."
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said that the risk of the leaking gas igniting meant residents had to stay away from their homes for several hours. Gas company Cadent said engineers worked throughout the night to repair the pipe before locals could return to their properties.
A Cadent spokesperson said: "Cadent engineers worked through the night on an emergency repair after a pipe was hit by a third party on Brackenfield Lane in Wessington on the morning of 21 June. Our teams have made everything safe and remain on site to complete the repair work.
"There has been no interruption to the local gas supply. Households that were evacuated yesterday as a safety precaution have now been able to return home. We’d like to thank everyone for their patience.
"This was a great response by the emergency services, including our team, in making sure everyone was kept safe. If you ever smell gas, here or anywhere, it is important to act immediately and call the national gas emergency service on 0800 111 999."
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