Residents evacuated after Portsmouth house explosion in Whale Island Way

People living in Whale Island Way said that the house where the incident happened had a couple and their teenage son in the property at the time.

One woman briefly saw the occupants before they were escorted from the scene by emergency service staff.

Helen Hudson, who has lived in the road for 42 years, said: ‘A neighbour who helped them said they had to escape through the broken window at the front.

‘They were definitely in a state of shock.

‘I saw the man who lives there, and he looked singed.

‘Apparently a woman at the back of the street got blown off her feet.’

Another resident added: ‘I heard the explosion - these are old houses and they can make a lot of noise, so I thought it was kids jumping on the floor.’

SEE ALSO: Portsmouth police close road after serious accident

Mrs Hudson was out for a walk when the explosion happened.

‘I was out with my husband walking along the shore at the time,’ she said.

‘We met a lady who said there had been an explosion down the road and a house had blown up.

‘There were lots of people on the road that had been evacuated from their houses.

‘I was able to get some slippers and blankets from my house.

‘You see stuff like this on the news - you don’t think it will be happening on your street.’

Residents were instructed to turn off the gas and electricity to their properties before being evacuated to nearby HMS Excellent.

On Twitter the fire service said that two people were assessed as a precaution and discharged at the scene, and that paramedics had treated someone else for minor injuries.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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