Residents near a dance school destroyed by an explosion on Saturday night complained the night before that they could smell gas, the National Grid has said.
Engineers investigated but there was no evidence of a leak. Two people were seriously injured and 31 others went to hospital after a building collapsed following a suspected gas explosion in Port Sunlight in Wirral, Merseyside.
Two of the casualties are currently in a serious condition and are being treated at Aintree hospital and the Walton neurological centre, Merseyside police said at Sunday lunchtime.
The blast obliterated the Complete Works dance school and collapsed several buildings, catapulting bricks over to a car park 150 metres away. Children had been inside the school just an hour before the blast happened, witnesses said.
Firefighters searched all of the properties affected by the explosion and search dogs from Merseyside and Lincolnshire fire and rescue service have searched the collapsed buildings and debris, Merseyside police said. The search remains ongoing, with two fire engines and the search and rescue team remaining at the scene on Sunday afternoon.
The National Grid, which owns the gas pipes, issued a statement on Sunday saying that engineers had responded to calls on Friday night of a smell of gas in Bebington Road, which adjoins Boundary Road. No leak could be detected.
“We were called a report of a smell in Bebington Road on Friday evening which we investigated and no trace of gas was found,” said the statement. “We also received several other reports of a smell from across the wider area and our emergency engineers investigated all these reports and found no indication of a gas leak. There are no indications that any of these reports were connected to yesterday’s explosion.”
North West ambulance service said two people were in a serious condition in hospital, while the rest were being treated for minor injuries. Most of those hurt were either in a Chinese restaurant or walking by when the blast happened, Merseyside fire service said.
Emergency services were called to Boundary Road on Saturday night at 9.15pm. Helen Hudson was in the Lan’s House Chinese restaurant when the windows were blown in by the blast.
She said: “There was a man underneath a table who my husband helped to get out.
“Another woman had a bad injury to her cheekbone. It was so frightening. We thought it was a terrorist attack. There was blood everywhere and dust everywhere. Our ears are still ringing now.
“We didn’t know if there would be another explosion so we thought we had to get out and we climbed through the front of the restaurant. The men were all helping the women get out and there were women with prams trying to get babies out.
“I can’t believe we walked away alive.”
Mark Craig, chairman of the New Ferry Residents’ Association, said a row of four shops with a dance studio above had collapsed. “Just an hour before, there were children in the studio,” he said, adding: “The community is in shock but you can see the community spirit and everyone is pulling together.”
The National Grid said in its statement on Sunday: “The cause of this explosion is still under investigation and it is too early to speculate on what may have caused it. National Grid gas distribution emergency engineers were called at 9.15pm on Saturday 25 March to a report of an explosion in Boundary Road.
“We remain on site today and are working with the emergency services and local authority to make the scene safe and to identify what caused the incident. The gas supply to the main property involved has been isolated. We are checking our local gas mains network and so far there has been no indication of any faults on it.”
In a statement Merseyside police said:“A total of 18 casualties were taken to hospital and a further 15 self-presented at local hospitals. Two of the casualties are currently in a serious condition and are being treated at Aintree hospital and the Walton neurological centre.
“Firefighters searched all of the affected properties affected by the explosion and search dogs from Merseyside and Lincolnshire fire and rescue service have searched the collapsed buildings and debris. The search remains ongoing.”
