A man pulled from the rubble of an explosion that caused an entire house to collapse is believed to have been a workman carrying out renovations.<br /><br />A neighbour said he'd seen two workmen - thought to be plumbers - working on the house in Blackburn on Sunday, before a huge blast devastated the terraced house.<br /><br />The man, who wished to stay anonymous, said it looked like a ‘bomb had gone off’ as emergency crews scrambled to the scene in London Road just after 7.30pm.<br /><br />Dramatic aerial photographs taken today (Mon) show how the roof has caved in on the house, believed to be worth around £150,000.<br /><br />Windows on the crumbling house have been blown out and debris from the blast is strewn across the street.<br /><br />Cars parked outside have been covered in bricks and mortar following the blast, which also appeared to have ripped bricks and roof tiles off the neighbouring house.<br /><br />The tenants of the house, a family that rent the property, are believed to have gone away while repair work was being carried out, the neighbour said.<br /><br />Speaking at the scene this morning, he said: “At around 7.30pm, I heard the explosion. <br /><br />"I only live a few doors away. I heard this loud bang. I thought it might be just kids in the back alley, setting off fireworks<br /><br />“We went outside to have a look, and we saw all the neighbours. There were bricks everywhere. The house was totally blown up. <br /><br />“It looked like a small bomb had gone off. It was chaotic, and there were two cars damage on the road. There was brick dust and glass everywhere.<br /><br />“I know everyone in the neighbourhood, and we do know it was a rented house - obviously it was good luck that the family wasn’t there.<br /><br />“But from what I saw on the day, there were two guys in the house doing work. I saw them bringing tiles into the property. <br /><br />"It looked like to me that they were plumbers working on the property."<br /><br />Lancashire police said they were called to the address just before 8pm.<br /><br />Fire crews had pulled a man from the rubble of the home before he was taken to hospital by ambulance. <br /><br />His injuries were not thought to be life-threatening and he was believed to be the only casualty, the force added.<br /><br />Nearby homes had been evacuated and police urged people to avoid the area while investigations into the cause of the explosion continue.<br /><br />A spokesman said: “We were called shortly before 8pm this evening to a report of a house collapse at an address on London Road and emergency services including police, fire and ambulance were quickly on the scene.<br /><br />“One man was rescued from the property by firefighters and taken to hospital by ambulance. His injuries are not at this time thought to be life-threatening. <br /><br />"He is believed to be the only casualty.<br /><br />“A number of road closures remain in place and emergency services remain at the scene.”<br /><br />Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said they had handed the casualty over to ambulance services after rescuing him from the building on arrival.<br /><br />Their spokesperson said: "We were called yesterday evening at around 19:40 to a suspected gas explosion in a domestic property on London Road in Blackburn.<br /><br />"On arrival, firefighters from Blackburn gained entry to the property to locate any casualties, with support from Hyndburn and the Urban Search and Rescue Teams from Chorley and Bamber Bridge.<br /><br />"One casualty was swiftly rescued and handed over into the care of North West Ambulance Service and taken to hospital via land ambulance. <br /><br />"There were no other injuries reported. Firefighters have made the scene safe, and we are working with other partner agencies to deal with this incident. <br /><br />"Road closures remain in place on London Road between Blackburn Street and Inkerman Street and we ask people to continue to avoid the area and make alternative routes where possible."<br /><br />A spokesperson from utility supplier Cadent Gas said their staff were at the scene this morning.<br /><br />The cause of the incident remains under investigation, but they didn’t believe the incident was caused by a gas explosion at this stage.<br /><br />Paula Steer, Network Director for Cadent in the North West said: “Cadent engineers have attended an explosion in Blackburn and we continue to assist the emergency response to the incident. <br /><br />“At this stage, we do not believe that the explosion is as a result of the gas network, however, it is too early to determine the exact cause and an investigation is currently taking place.”<br /><br />Roads have been closed in the surrounding streets with police urging people to avoid the area.<br /><br />An evacuation centre was set up at an education centre nearby.
