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Deadly house explosion in Bedford ‘at the site of a previous natural gas leak’

Deadly house explosion in Bedford ‘at the site of a previous natural gas leak’

Supplied A blurry photo through a wet car window of a burning house, with all the windows and doors blown out and piles of brick rubble next to them. Orange flames shoot out of the building.Delivered

An explosion and fire occurred in Cleat Hill, Bedford, at around 07:30 BST on Saturday

An explosion that killed a man occurred on the same property where an underground gas leak occurred earlier this year, neighbors told the BBC.

A man died and a woman was seriously injured in the explosion on Cleat HillBedford, on Saturday morning.

In July, The BBC reported from the area after a contractor encountered a gas bubble while drilling a borehole for a heat pump, prompting an evacuation.

Neighbor Joel Simpson said it was “definitely the same house” where the leak occurred, which was confirmed by other residents. Many people are still unable to return to their homes after the explosion on Saturday.

In response, Bedford Borough Council set up an emergency response center.

Over the weekend, Bedfordshire Police said “increased” levels of gas had been found in the area, believed to have come naturally from an underground source rather than a gas pipe.

Ant Saddington/BBC A drone shot of the street shows the ruins of an exploded house. The surrounding houses are undamaged, but the property in the center is completely destroyed by scorched bricks.Ant Saddington/BBC

After the explosion, people were evacuated from their homes

Mr Simpson, 22, told the BBC he heard a loud bang – “kind of like a gunshot” – on Saturday morning.

“They rushed to the window and immediately saw the flames,” he said.

“From my house you could see the whole building on fire.

“It’s definitely the same house as the owner who tried to have the borehole dug.”

He said he was evacuated from his home along with his parents and they were only allowed back in for a 10-minute period to pack their bags.

“You are ushered in and given 10 minutes to pack three bags for three people with a flashlight. That was pretty hard,” he said.

“Right now I don’t even have my house keys. I had to give it to some people who do the gas yesterday so they could go in and take a look because they keep finding gas in houses where it happened.”

Ant Saddington/BBC Joel Simpson is a young man with brown hair and a beard. He wears a gray top with a St. John Rigby Saints sign on it.Ant Saddington/BBC

Joel Simpson said there is no time frame for when he will be able to return to his family home

He said his household lives with family, but he read on a neighborhood WhatsApp group that some people were having difficulty getting food and accessing their vehicles.

He wondered “how long we’re going to stay out.”

“There is no time frame… There are no next steps at the moment,” he said.

In a statementVictoria Grieve, network director for gas emergency services in the East of England at Cadent, said: “Our thoughts and condolences go out to the families and friends of the people involved in this tragic incident.”

“We tested our gas pipe network and found that the main and service gas pipes are perfect. No leaks were detected.”

“As standard procedure, we have disconnected the gas supply to the affected property for safety reasons.

“We have been asked to remain on site as gas emergency experts to advise and assist the fire service and HSE with their investigations.”

In July, firefighters described the discovery of the gas bubble as a “one in a million” incident.