Emergency services are at the scene of what witnesses have described as a bomb like explosion at a property in Springwood, Haxby near York which has been reduced to smouldering rubble.
There was a large loud blast with extensive damage effectively demolishing one house and a number of others in the area are also damaged with windows blown out and roofs ripped apart. The cause is thought at this early stage to be due to a gas explosion.
Local residents have been evacuated and a rest centre has been set up.
The explosion was reported to North Yorkshire Police at 7.30am today (Friday 19 February 2016) with at least one reported casualty, a 63 year old man killed.
Police Renew Appeal 21 Years After Fatal Shipley Arson Attack
South Asian Art Exhibition Opens at Cartwright Hall
Drivers Caught Using Dead Man's Name to Avoid Motoring Fines
Four jailed after Leeds revenge plot ends in friend's death
Lane rental schemes to launch across Leeds, Wakefield and Kirklees
Bradford Council confirms traffic camera plans at busy junctions
Sixty arrests in Kirklees domestic abuse crackdown
Culture at the Heart of Stockport’s Transformation
South Asian Art Exhibition Opens at Cartwright Hall
Men’s Mental Fitness Programme Launches in Blackburn
Former Teacher Charged with 1990s Child Sex Offences
Council Calls for Tougher Fly-Tipping Sentences
Remix Saturdays
The Golden Era
Alim OnAir
Bhangra Nights