Man dies in gas explosion at terraced house in Worksop
Emergency services were called to the John Street area last night
A man has been found dead among the debris of a terraced house in Worksop that was destroyed by a "gas explosion", Nottinghamshire Police have said.
Emergency crews were called to the incident in John Street, Worksop, at 7.39pm on Saturday.
The following afternoon Nottinghamshire Police confirmed the explosion came from inside and the terraced home was destroyed.
"Significant damage was also caused to neighbouring properties", it added.
The force said: "The body of a man, aged in his 50s, was later discovered in the wreckage.
"Despite the best efforts of the responding emergency services, he died at the scene."
Images circulated on social media appear to show a destroyed terraced house, and people reported hearing a loud bang.
The entire length of the house looks to have been wrecked, with bricks covering part of the street in front, in a video of the scene shared on Facebook.
Chief Inspector Clive Collings, from Nottinghamshire Police, said on Sunday: "This is an extremely serious incident that has led to a man's untimely death.
"The man's family have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers. I have no doubt that this incident will have come as a shock to the community in Worksop."
On X, formerly Twitter, one person asked at around 8.06pm: "Did anyone else hear a loud bang/explosion sound in Worksop North Nottingham around 30 minutes ago?"
A Facebook user posted at about 8.10pm: "I was driving back from Mass this evening, just turned into Gladstone Street from Gateford Road, when there was a terrific bang, like a very loud firework! I thought the back end had blown off my car.
"A house in John Street has had, presumably, a gas explosion!"
The public is asked to avoid the area.
The fire service said it has "a number of appliances at an incident on John Street, Worksop. This is a gas explosion".
Nottinghamshire Police posted on X: "We are currently at the scene of an emergency incident in John Street, Worksop.
"Please avoid the area until further notice. Further updates to follow."