A woman has been seriously injured after an explosion destroyed a house in Sunderland.
Fire crews pulled the woman from the rubble after the blast shook a street in the Ryhope area of the city at 8.50am on Friday.
She was found badly burned and rushed to hospital where she was in a "serious but stable condition", North East Ambulance Service said.
Pictures showed an entire semi-detached home decimated by the blast, with a second house badly damaged and debris strewn across the street.
The explosion in Rosslyn Avenue could be heard more than a mile away, according to witnesses.
Northumbria Police officers cordoned off the road 30m from the scene of the blast and told people to avoid the area as emergency services work to make the area safe.
They could not say if anyone was trapped in the rubble.
Shocked residents gathered at the edge of the cordon to take in the full extent of the damage.
Fire crews, paramedics and two air ambulances were also sent to the street along with engineers from Northern Gas Networks, which promised an "urgent" investigation.
The cause of the blast was not yet known but a police spokesman said there were there were "no indications whatsoever at this time that the incident is terrorism related".
Neighbours reported a strong smell of gas.
One woman said on social media her "house literally shook" from the force of the explosion, which she said "sounded like a bomb".
Another witness told the Sunderland Echo the house had been "levelled to the ground".
"Never heard so many sirens. It sounds like a war zone," they added.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said it had five engines, " a number of officers and specialist units" at the scene of the explosion.
North East Ambulance Service sent four hazardous area response teams and two paramedic crews.
A spokeswoman said: "Working with our emergency services colleagues we rescued and treated one patient, suffering burns who was in a serious but stable condition.
"We have taken the casualty to the Newcastle Royal Infirmary by paramedic ambulance with the Great North Air Ambulance doctor on board."
The nearby Ryhope Community Centre was opened for people affected by the explosion.
Northern Gas said in a statement: “Emergency engineers from Northern Gas Networks have attended the scene of an incident on Rosslyn Avenue in Ryhope.
“We are working alongside the emergency services, and at this stage, the cause of the incident is not yet known. However, we will be investigating as a matter of urgency."
