Video: Second body found inside gas blast house

Nottinghamshire Police said ongoing searches in the rubble of the property in Newark had “revealed” the body of a woman, which will be recovered later today.

Emergency services had already found a man’s body at the scene of yesterday’s blast, which left four other people in hospital.

A police spokesman also confirmed that a “controlled demolition” was set to be carried out as the property was not considered safe.

The first body found during the search-and-rescue operation was located in the rubble of the home shortly after midnight.

The police spokesman added: “Two children and a woman were taken to Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre for treatment to smoke inhalation and have since been discharged.

“A man also sustained serious injuries and smoke inhalation and remains in hospital.”

More than 100 people were evacuated from their homes after the blast, which happened at about 5.10pm, and a rest centre was set up at a nearby leisure centre.

Local people described their shock at the severity of the explosion in Wright Street, which also destroyed part of a neighbouring home.

Construction worker Cormac Fleming was walking down Wright Street with his wife and child at the time of the explosion.

Describing how a woman passed a two-month-old baby to him through the front window of the neighbouring house in the aftermath of the blast, Mr Fleming said: “The mother was very concerned about the baby, because it was very small.

“The three people that I came across were in complete and utter shock.

“They just did not know what was going on.

“The main house is non-existent, literally the whole roof collapsed within a split second and it tore down half of another building with it.”

Simon Hunter, who lives around the corner from Wright Street, told ITV’s Daybreak programme: “It was just a massive crash, like a big explosion.

“We had just come in from the garden and there was a massive explosion.

“The house shook, I looked at my wife and it was just sheer terror, we didn’t know what was going on.

“My initial reaction was that a train had derailed.

“Then I saw the house with plumes of smoke everywhere. It was just carnage, it was unbelievable.”

Newark town councillor Laurence Gough expressed sadness at news that the incident had claimed two lives.

Cllr Gough, a trained first-aider, said: “I was cycling nearby and I saw the black smoke but by the time I got there it was being cordoned off.”

The independent councillor, who used to represent the area where the blast occurred, said: “I saw the helicopter landing at the local school and taking off, and the police helicopter advised people to close their windows and doors because the smoke was getting out of hand.”

Commending the emergency services and members of the local community for their prompt response, Cllr Gough added: “Newark is a close community and of course people did come out to help.

“The emergency services were called right away and we were just grateful that they were on the scene quickly.”

Local resident Dan Walker, who lives around 100 yards from the scene, told Sky News that children could be heard screaming in the moments after the blast.

Mr Walker said: “I was in the back garden just doing some gardening and there was an almighty bang, and the floor shook.

“It sounded like a bomb had gone off down the road.

“All you could hear was kids screaming so I ran out to the front garden to see what was going on.”I went down the street and I could see the house - it was in pieces.”

Audie Cashin told reporters that he and four other people helped to drag a man out of the property.

Mr Cashin, who was informed that the man’s father was in the cellar of the house, said he was then ordered to leave the area by fire crews.

Eye-witness Isla MacDonald, who lives in Wright Street, told how she and her partner saw a man in the remains of the building.

She told BBC Radio Nottingham: ‘’There was all this smoke. It was like something off the telly.

“A man was crawling through the debris bleeding - the whole of the house had come down.

“Two lads came and we got him out, and carried him up the path away from the all the smoke. His legs were hurting, so we laid him down.

“It was horrendous, it was just terrifying.”

Emergency crews were alerted to the explosion at 5.11pm and appliances from Tuxford, Newark, Southwell and Collingham attended the scene.