A roof was blown from a building and bricks strewn onto a road in a gas explosion at a property in Roker, Sunderland.
Emergency services rushed to the scene at Whickham Street after the eruption at 3.45pm on Tuesday 15 February, and two men were taken to hospital suffering blast injuries.
Northumbria Police, the North East Ambulance Service, the Great North Air Ambulance and Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service attended once the alarm was raised. Later a K-9 dog unit from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service arrived to ensure no more casualties were trapped inside.
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A Northumbria Police spokesperson added: “At 3.45pm today we received a report of a suspected gas explosion at an address on Whickham Street, Sunderland.
“Emergency services are at the scene. Two men have been taken to hospital with injuries that are not deemed to be life-threatening at this time.
“Officers remain in the area alongside Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service and anyone with concerns is asked to speak to them.”
One injured party was taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital, while another was transported to Newcastle's RVI for immediate care.
A spokesperson for Gentoo, the housing association which owns the properties affected, said: “Reports indicate this may have been a gas explosion, however investigations are ongoing, and we are cooperating with the emergency services and the local authority.
“We are doing everything that we can to offer as much support as possible to tenants, including providing temporary accommodation.
“The safety of our residents is our priority and we have staff at the scene offering support.
"We are clearly concerned for the wellbeing for the two confirmed casualties that have been taken to local hospitals. Our thoughts are with the casualties and their families at this difficult time.”
John Ellis, 43, who lives next door to the explosion site recalled how his panic turned to relief when he realised his father was safely away from the blast.
Speaking to Chronicle Live, he told how his 'heart sank' upon hearing the news - as he thought his father who he lives with was at home at the time of the incident.
However, he later discovered his father was at work at the time of the explosion.
John said: "At about 4.30pm I got a phone call to say there had been an explosion.
"My dad normally works night shift so I thought he was in the flat. Luckily for me, he was at two-day's training at work so he was on day shift instead of night shift.
"I turned up on scene to find it looks like a bomb has hit."
John also spoke of the repercussions adding that now he will have to start afresh due to the catastrophic structural damages to his home.
He added: "It's a shock - we're going to have to start again from scratch. Luckily I think that Gentoo are going to be on hand to help out where they can, but everything's gone - that's it.
"We can't get in, the fire brigade did force entry because they thought someone was in there - they've deemed it unsafe so we can't even get in to have a look at this time, and we probably wont be able to to be fair.
"I couldn't tell you what it's like inside, other than the fact that I've been told it's been decimated."
Tyne and Wear Fire Rescue Service released a statement. The service said: "The first crew was on the scene in a matter of minutes where emergency services found two men had suffered injuries.
"They were both attended to by the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) and it has since been confirmed that the men had suffered blast injuries. Nobody else has been reported to be injured at this time.
"In total four appliances, an Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) vehicle and the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team were dispatched to the scene by TWFRS and a cordon was established in the area."
Deputy Chief Fire Officer Peter Heath, of TWFRS said: “This has been a significant explosion and there has been substantial damage caused to the property in question.
“Thankfully our crews were quickly on scene alongside our other blue light partners to assist two male casualties from the area and they have since been transferred to hospital.
“We will remain in the area alongside our partners this evening to assess the site and ensure it is structurally safe. Some residents in the immediate vicinity have also been evacuated as a precaution.
“We know this will be concerning for local residents and we would ask that anyone present in the area listens to the advice and instruction of the emergency services."
Group Manager for the TWFRS, Steve Thomas, was also on and to speak about the impact and significance of the explosion which had occurred.
He said: "As you can see from the scene behind me, it was quite a serious blast and the building is in a fair state of disrepair now.
"Crews were on scene very quickly, we were able to identify that there was one person unaccounted for still at the time and we made a very quick committal into the premises to perform a rescue. This was all done while making sure it was safe, and that our crews were at no real risk at any time."
He added: "There are a number of properties here, we worked very closely with Police colleagues to identify who was in the surrounding premises and evacuate them very quickly, and we've worked with Sunderland local authority to make sure that those individuals will be re-homed somewhere safe and warm while all of the structural surveillance is done."
When questioned as to whether or not all affected parties were safe and away from danger, Steve said: "At the moment, we're about 99.9% sure - this will just tick us over and make us 100 per cent content."
A K-9 unit was also sent up from the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, to eradicate any doubt of remaining parties being on site using canines.
Sunderland City Council also arrived on-scene as emergency services began departing, to create a secure blockade around the area - replacing temporary police cordons in place.
Whickham Street remains closed in both directions between A1290 Church Street North and Zetland Street.
