A huge explosion which rocked homes miles from the site of the blast has left two houses in ruins, with one person missing and three hospitalised.
A major incident has been declared and the Red Cross deployed to the scene of the suspected gas explosion in Swansea, with a neighbour said to have rescued a teenage boy and his mother from the rubble.
Debris was witnessed exploding into the street and striking the flats opposite on the junction of Clydach Road and Field Close in the Morriston area at 11.20am, with a number of properties said by South Wales Police to have been damaged in the blast.
Emergency services and engineers are working to make the area safe and locate the missing individual, and a police officer who refused to let residents past a newly-established cordon warned: “We’re still not out of the woods with the gas. We’re not safe from another explosion.”
As many as 120 residents in 30 properties have been evacuated, and an emergency centre for residents has been set up in the nearby Morriston Memorial Hall, with many gathering in the Red Lion pub.
Authorities are seeking to house people in hotels overnight, as local councillor Ceri Evans warned that “it’s an outside chance that they will be allowed back, particularly the ones on the actual street that was affected by the explosion because there’s just so much damage that needs to be moved”.
The councillor, who felt the blast in her home a mile away, warned that it “if it had happened maybe a couple of hours earlier it could have been a lot worse given how busy that part of Morriston is”.
Jason Maynard, 43, who was in the Red Lion when the explosion took place, said: “Everything shook, my breakfast nearly went everywhere. We came out and we were all confused but then we saw it, there was loads of debris and dust high into the sky, and tiles everywhere. You could tell it was really bad.”
A major incident was declared just 40 minutes after the blast, Swansea Council leader Rob Stewart said, adding: “My thoughts are with the residents at this moment from what looks like an extremely serious incident, as we try and establish if everyone is safe.”
Wales & West Utilities, which maintains the gas network, said the cause of the explosion was still unknown and its engineers were “immediately” deployed to help make the area safe.
Christopher Yeoman, 55, who said he lives three doors down from the blast, helped rescue a teenage boy and his mother from the rubble.
“I saw the debris explode outward into the street even before I heard it, then I heard this massive bang. The house exploded and everything flew out into the road hitting the postman who was driving by and the flats opposite,” he said.
“Everything shook and all my pictures fell off the wall, and I was first most worried about my 95-year-old mother who was downstairs. I ran into the street and we got a teenage boy who was in the debris out, and me and another neighbour ran in because we could hear a woman shouting from inside.
“When we got to her, she was hysterical and worried about her cat and dog but we managed to find the puppy in the crate and get it out as well. We got them both to a bus that had stopped to help, because this was before the ambulance and police had turned up.”
Police said that three people were taken to hospital by ambulance. One person is “currently unaccounted for” and “work is ongoing to locate them”, a spokesperson said.
“Two properties have been extensively damaged and other neighbouring properties have also been damaged,” they added. “A rest centre has been set up by the local authority to support those affected. This is an ongoing incident, so more detail will be provided when we have a clearer picture.
“A cordon remains in place and people are asked to avoid the area while the incident is ongoing. Clydach Road remains closed and traffic is being diverted.”
Ioan Humphreys lives eight miles away in Rhos, Pontardaw, and had just started a Microsoft Teams meeting when he heard the bang.
“The house next door to me is having lots of building work done, so initially I thought it was a massive skip being delivered and dropped on their drive – it felt that close,” the 48-year-old Swansea University research officer said.
Abbie, a 26-year-old who lives half a mile from the scene, said the explosion sounded like a car had crashed into her home.
“I was working when we heard a huge bang, it sounded like a car had crashed into our garage and the impact shook the house,” she said.
Local resident, Leanne Lewis, was visiting her mother when she heard the explosion and ran outside.
“There was dust rubble, and the glass in the windows next to the house were all blown. The noise was just horrendous and I thought there had been a big crash,” she told Wales Online.
A statement from local football team, Morriston Town AFC, said: “We are devastated to hear what has happened on Clydach Road/Field Close. We really hope everyone is okay. If there is anything we can do to help any of the local residents please do not hesitate to contact us.”
Additional reporting by PA
