At approximately 17:10 hrs today, Wirral Community Patrol was made aware of a gas explosion at a residential property at Mather Road, Oxton.
It was reported by eyewitnesses that at the time the explosion occurred, there were three males present on the premises. Their condition is currently unknown.
It is understood that Mersey Fire & Rescue Service (MFRS) requested a structural engineer to attend the scene. MFRS made contact with Cadent Gas to attend and Merseyside Police were called to implement a road closure.
An eyewitness, Alexandra Soar, told birkenhead.news that she saw smoke from quite a distance away whilst shopping. “I wasn’t sure where it was coming from but it [the smoke] seemed pretty bad.
“As I was going down Euston Grove I noticed a big crowd of people, two fire engines and several police cars, the smoke was billowing from every window of the house.
“I didn’t stop long because I didn’t want to get in the way but as I got further away I noticed the smoke had died down so assume they had got it under control.”
UPDATE
Two people have been taken to hospital following this incident.
Wirral Council building inspectors have worked with emergency services to shore up the building, which has now been deemed safe to enter.
An investigation into the cause of the fire will be carried out in due course.
Main image credit: Alexandra Soar