Sunderland blast destroys house

Emergency services raced to the scene after reports of a domestic blast on Rosslyn Avenue in the Ryhope area of the north east England city.

Scores of police, ambulance and fire crew could be seen working at the scene, with debris strewn across the road.

Northern Gas Networks engineers were also on site.

Shocked residents were gathered at the edge of the cordon, as the full extent of the damage began to sink in.

One half of a semi-detached house was completely destroyed, the other half badly damaged.

On Twitter, Northumbria Police said: "There is nothing to indicate at this time that this is linked to terrorism."

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A woman on a neighbouring street said half the semi-detached house had been flattened and the other half was wrecked.

Tracey Pounder, 51, said: "I heard an almighty bang.

"I went upstairs and you could see dust rising.

"Soon after there were sirens. The response was fantastic.

"Half of the semi has gone and next door is wrecked.

"I came down to see what was happening and it is a complete shock."

Sean Hughes, 40, heard the explosion over a mile away.

He said: "I saw the window move and the house shook."

An air ambulance crew has attended the scene.

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One Facebook user claimed her sister had been airlifted to hospital from the property and was "conscious and talking", adding that the victim's daughter was not at home at the time.

In a post on a local community group, she said: "There must be a God somewhere, how the hell can anyone survive that explosion."

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The North East Ambulance Service spokeswoman said one casualty was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

She said: "We were called to the Rosslyn Avenue area of Ryhope at 8.48am this morning.

"We dispatched our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) and two officers and requested support from Great North Air Ambulance (GNAAS).

"Working with our emergency service colleagues we rescued and treated one patient, suffering burns who was in a serious but stable condition.

"We have taken the casualty to the Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary by paramedic ambulance with the GNAAS doctor on board."