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The drama began early this morning when eight fire crews - 40 firefighters - initially raced to the scene after receiving the call to a house in the Irlam just after 7am. The explosion was so big it was reportedly heard up to five miles away in Chorlton and the Urban Search and Rescue Team, which specialises in earth quake recovery techniques, were also sent to the scene.

'We can confirm there has been an explosion, that it is a domestic property and that there were people trapped,' said a spokesman for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service. Fiddlers Lane Community Primary School, was closed to pupils this morning due to the explosion but is now providing shelter for evacuated residents. Headteacher Julie Carson said: 'We've opened up our hall and we are providing snacks and drinks. 'We are working with the council.'



A gas company worker attends the scene, where neighbours have reported a lingering strong smell of gas




Evacuated: Residents have been moved from their homes and are being sheltered in a nearby primary school

Dan Corker, who lives three doors away from where the explosion struck, suffered minor head injuries when his bedroom ceiling collapsed. He told Sky News: 'The ceiling came on us while we were in bed. When we came outside there were three houses completely gone. 'I got hit on the head but we all managed to get out safely. Our house is still standing but the windows are all blown out.'

Scores more neighbours were woken up by the blast early today. William Billinge was startled by a 'very loud bang' and he said the explosion shook his house. When he went outside to find out what had happened, he described seeing four houses destroyed. Mr Billinge, 65, said: 'There's nothing left of them.



Search and rescue: Firefighters approach the scene of the gas explosion


'There is debris everywhere, all over the place. Four houses completely flattened.' He added that the area is 'chock-a-block' with emergency services. Sharon Watson, who lives nearby, said: 'It is total devastation – there are three houses that are totally blown apart. 'It is on a housing estate right alongside the M62 motorway – there are no industrial buildings nearby.

'You cannot get anywhere near Irlam – people are having to dump their cars after dropping the kids off at school and go home on foot.' A number of roads, including Silver Street, Merlin Road, Morrillion Road and Cutnook Lane were closed off while police and other emergency services worked at the scene, Greater Manchester Police said.



Location: The explosion occurred in the Irlam area of Salford

The area has been sealed off and Transco said gas workers had been sent to the scene to control any leaks. Emergency service are instructing people to avoid the area. At around 10am, Carol Ward, who lives on one of the closed off streets, said the police asked residents to leave their homes for their own safety. Mrs Ward said: 'They have cordoned off outside our houses and we have been asked to lock up our houses and leave.



Tough morning: A young girl sits wrapped in a blanket after being evacuated

'I am going to my daughter's if the roads aren't all blocked off.' Irlam resident Barbara Holgate had just returned home from working a night shift at Tesco when she was asked to leave her home. 'They have evacuated a lot of people,' she said. 'They were knocking on doors telling people to get out.

'It's a close-knit area so people have been going to relatives and friends. I've invited somebody in for coffee. 'They told most people to go inside. There's a big smell of gas.' Carolyn Patten, 64, a retired office worker, said she was also woken up by the blast. 'There was a huge booming noise at around 7am this morning,' she said.

'The road is just adjacent to the M62, so I just thought it was a crash on the motorway. 'Then pretty quickly we heard all the sirens and realised that something was going on down the other end of the road. 'We've been told a number of houses have been flattened and around seven people have been taken to hospital.' Mrs Patten said the houses affected by the blast were built in the 1960s and were ex-council stock.