Residents who felt the power of the blast that killed a woman in Birmingham’s house said it was a “miracle” that no other life was lost.
Forty-five-year-old Ehi Obor felt an explosion from his home on the streets of King Standing and thought it was “either a gas explosion or Russia.”
He arrived at the moment of the road to find the scene of devastation and saw a man rescued from the rubble by his neighbor.
Obor said it was “painful” to find out that the woman had been killed in the blast, but was surprised that no more lives were lost.
In the video shortly after being shot by a neighbor, the firefighters arrive at the scene after the police repeatedly yelled at the people to return.
A woman’s body was found in the wreckage of a house after a suspected gas explosion on Sunday night.
Obor told Metro.co.uk: At first I thought it was a gas explosion in Russia.
“I wondered if Putin was crazy. How powerful the blast was, it was beyond my imagination. It shook everything.
“I went to see what was happening, and some people were running back to their homes because they were really scared.
“I saw some other neighbors moving a man out of the building.
“The windows were blown off at the fitness center opposite. This shows the power of the blast.
“Things were scattered everywhere. There was a white Mercedes man parked outside when the explosion occurred.
“Fortunately, he was in a badly damaged car, so all the windows were blown away.
“While asking if anyone was in the house, I was worried that the fire would jump into another building.
“There was no information at that point, and we all held our breath and prayed that no one was inside.
“We knew that no one could survive in the way the flames were settled. Neighbors lost her life and our hearts were directed at her family. It is painful to know.
Support workers praised the neighbors who intervened in the first few seconds of the tragedy before the emergency service arrived at Dulwich Road.
“They were amazing, they reacted before the police came,” he said. “It’s the kind of community we have in King Standing, it was undoubtedly.
“Without their swift action, multiple people would have died.
“It’s painful to know this tragedy, but it’s a miracle because of the magnitude of the damage, and only one person’s life was lost.”
A man rescued from the burning debris of a house remains life-threatening in a hospital.
He was pulled from the wreckage by a group of neighbors who entered the building after hearing a cry for help.
In an update, the West Midlands Fire Department said today:
“Our thoughts and empathy are in everyone affected.”
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