At least one person has died and three others have been taken to hospital after what was described as an “inferno” in a block of flats, Bedfordshire police said.
Ch Supt John Murphy said it was possible more deaths will be discovered in the coming days as emergency services search the scene, with some people unaccounted for at the block at Redwood Grove in Bedford.
East of England ambulance service said there had been three hospital admissions, one of whom was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s hospital with leg injuries.
The other two, including a firefighter, were taken to Bedford South Wing hospital with smoke inhalation. The firefighter has since returned home, emergency services said.
“Very sadly we know that at least one person has passed away in the explosion today,” Murphy said. “There is a possibility that there will be more fatalities discovered in the coming days as we continue to search through the scene and a number of people, as my colleague from the fire services has identified, were injured as well today.”
Police said the “working assumption” about what sparked the fire was gas-related but that an investigation had been launched to formally establish the cause.
Bedfordshire police said the explosion triggered a “significant fire” at the three-storey block of 20 properties, which engulfed the whole building and caused a large portion of the roof to collapse.
“Police, fire and the ambulance service all remain in attendance [at the flats],” said Bedfordshire police. “We know people are keen to help, but would ask people to avoid the area and keep any doors and windows closed.”
The police force said an emergency assistance centre had been set up by Bedford council at the nearby John Bunyan centre for people who had been evacuated.
It added: “An adjacent block of flats has also been evacuated and we are working as quickly as we can to get people back into their homes as quickly as possible.”
Bedfordshire fire and rescue service said the fire was caused by a major gas explosion. It said in a statement: “There are currently six appliances, two water carriers [and] an incident command unit at the scene. Please avoid the area and keep windows and doors closed.”
The incident comes just over a week after a gas explosion in Kingstanding, Birmingham, which killed a 79-year-old woman.
One witness claimed they saw a person jump from a second-floor window to escape the burning building. “I heard the explosion from my house round the corner,” the eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous, told the PA Media news agency.
“I walked to town and saw the flames and also witnessed someone jump from the second-floor window whilst flames were blaring out.”
Adam Fisher, 37-year-old sales worker whose office is nearby, said: “A huge explosion heard – everyone went to our work car park to see what was happening.
“Our building is adjacent to the apartment complex – immediately an inferno [was] visible, huge smoke cloud billowing, people screaming and people frantically calling for emergency services.”
On 26 June a gas explosion destroyed a house and seriously damaged three others in Kingstanding.
Doreen Rees-Bibb was killed in the explosion while her partner, who was pulled alive from the rubble by neighbours, was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
