8:44am Monday 2nd April 2012
SIX people have been injured after a house collapsed due to a suspected gas explosion.
More than 60 people were asked to leave their homes in the early this morning after the devastating explosion in Wellesley Road, Clacton.
Police rescued four people from the roof of a building and firefighters rescued one from inside the flats.
The Urban Search and Rescue Team and the Fire Service's rescue dog were also called in to search the property for other people.
Wellesley Road was blocked at the Oxford Road end as the emergency services worked and the gas officials worked to make the area safe.
Assistant divisional officer Neil Holloway said: "This has been a complicated and difficult job but firefighters and the Urban Search and Rescue team have done an excellent job.
“It is extremely lucky that no one has died here and it is testament to the skill of firefighters and the USAR team that everyone has been rescued alive.”
A woman in her 70s had to be taken to Colchester General Hospital after suffering serious burns, and has now been moved to Broomfield Hospital.
A man who had to be pulled from the rubble by emergency crews was also taken to hospital, along with four people suffering from smoke inhalation.
Fire investigators are now looking into the cause of the explosion.
The road is still close while authorities deal with the aftermath.
Picture credit: Essex County Fire and Rescue
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Picture: Essex County Fire and Rescue
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