At least 10 people injured in early morning blast that blew off back and front of terrace in Ashton-under-Lyne

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A man has died after an explosion at a family home. The victim, aged 63, died in hospital as a result of injuries suffered in the blast in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester. He has not yet been named.

John Wilson, a double lung transplant survivor who uses a stairlift, and his wife, Hazel, 53, leapt from a bedroom window while their daughter Danielle, 22, jumped from the roof to escape before the blast at the terrace home at 5am on Tuesday, which injured at least 10 people.

Neighbours who ran to help the family before they were taken to hospital were wounded by glass and flying debris and left with burns and lacerations. One neighbour is thought to have brought a mattress to break John Wilson’s fall.

Their elder daughter, Leanne, 27, who lives down the road from her parents, said the family had lost everything in the inferno that reduced their house to rubble.

It is believed a fire was already raging before a possible gas explosion rocked the quiet neighbourhood and tore through the front and back of the property.

Greater Manchester fire and rescue service confirmed the family had a working smoke alarm that alerted them to the blaze before the house exploded.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Aerial view of the house. Photograph: Greater Manchester fire and rescue/PA

The blast collapsed the front and back of the terrace, leaving rubble, glass and a mattress strewn across the road in Ashton-under-Lyne, about six miles from Manchester city centre.

The fire and rescue service said 10 people had been injured in the blast, including neighbours who rushed to help.

The cause of the blast, which left several houses without gas or electricity, remains unclear.

Leanne Wilson said: “I was in bed and heard the explosion, came outside and saw the house on fire. I thought it was next door and then people came over and told me it was my mum and dad’s.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The front and back of the house were blown off by the explosion. Photograph: Greater Manchester fire and rescue/PA

“Two people jumped out of the window and one of them had to get off the roof and that’s how they got out.

“They’ve been there years. They’ve lost everything. A lot of memories from years ago. They’ve lost a lot. I’m shocked. Just trying to keep myself together. I’ve got a lot of friends and family supporting me.

“I saw them when they were over the road and they were on a mattress. It was horrible.”

A fundraising campaign has been launched to help the family recover financially from the blast.

Hazel Wilson was nominated for a Pride of Manchester award in 2005 for caring for her husband, who received his double lung transplant in 2004, the Manchester Evening News reported.

A spokeswoman for the North West ambulance service earlier said six people had been injured – one with major burns and five with minor injuries – but it is thought more patients have since gone to A&E after helping the family escape.

The spokeswoman had said that one patient was taken to the Manchester Royal Infirmary, another to Wythenshawe hospital and others to Tameside hospital.