LONDON (Reuters) - An explosion destroyed a house in northern England and injured one person, police said on Friday, adding that the blast was not caused by militant activity.

The blast, which was reported at 0750 GMT, blew through a house on the outskirts of the city of Sunderland, 240 miles (386.24 km) north of London, wrecking a neighboring property and sending debris flying.

The local ambulance service said firefighters rescued one woman, who had been taken to hospital. She had suffered burns and was in a serious but stable condition.

“There are no indications whatsoever at this time that the incident is terrorism related,” police said in a statement.

Neighbors told the Guardian newspaper that the explosion had sounded like a bomb going off and that it “smelled like gas everywhere.”