A woman has been found dead after a house was destroyed in a gas explosion in Birmingham.
West Midlands Fire Service confirmed the fatality in a tweet on Monday morning, writing: “We’re very sad to confirm that a woman has been found dead at the scene of last night's explosion in #Kingstanding.
“Our thoughts and sympathies are with everyone affected.”
A man also remains in a life-threatening condition in hospital after being rescued from the destroyed house with “significant injuries”.
Four other men suffered minor injuries and were assessed by ambulance crews at the scene.
West Midlands Police said they were called just after 8.30pm on Sunday to the incident on Dulwich Road in Kingstanding.
The explosion destroyed one house and significantly damaged several others as well as nearby cars.
Residents described how they clambered past flaming debris and through dust and rubble shortly after the blast to pull an injured man alive from the ruins of the house.
One man, who declined to give his name, said: “Everyone was watching, the house was on fire, nobody was going in, so we could see a way in – so we went in the house, me and about a dozen others.
“There was a guy in the back (of the house), we could hear the guy screaming, but he was trapped up against the fridge in the kitchen.
“The dust from the loft insulation was burning around us.
“We managed to get to him, and pull him out – I still have his blood on my jeans.
“We got him out, he ended up coming out on a mattress.
“But he was saying there was a woman in the house.”
West Midlands Fire Service said it expected to remain at the scene well into Monday as investigations continue.
Warren Farm Primary School, located less than a five-minute walk away in Aylesbury Crescent, will be closed throughout Monday.
As of 4am, the fire service said good progress was being made at the scene and a drone was being used to identify any hot spots.
The fire service said it was working with West Midlands Police, West Midlands Ambulance Service, Cadent Gas and the National Grid to manage the incident.
Additional reporting by Press Association
