© Daily Mail
- Residents of Clacton, Essex reported hearing a loud bang 'like a bomb going off' at 8.30am thanks to gas explosion
- Four fire engines, five ambulances and two air ambulances called to scene and took 10 people to hospital
- Passers-by who helped pull victims from the rubble said they were shocked to find residents still alive
Nine people were hurt yesterday as a massive gas blast flattened two houses on an estate.
A retired couple were seriously injured but miraculously no one was killed in the 8.30am explosion.
David Davies, 65, was in bed and his wife Hela, 56, in the kitchen when the huge blast - which neighbours said was 'like a bomb' - sent debris flying up to 150 yards along the street in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.
The couple, who have three grown-up children, were rescued from the debris in their pyjamas by shocked residents who rushed to help. They were taken to hospital with severe burns.
Seven neighbours were also taken to hospital following the explosion, which fire chiefs believe could have been caused by a badly installed boiler or appliance.
Gary Curtis, 27, ran to help rescue Mr and Mrs Davies after the blast smashed his windows. 'It was like a bomb going off, he said. 'You could just hear screams coming from the rubble.
'The woman had somehow survived in a protective tunnel that had formed above her from the wreckage. When we pulled her out she had burns all up her arms, her pyjamas were singed. Her husband was still in bed covered in debris.
'It is a miracle that no one is dead. There is a primary school 100 yards up the road and a bus stop just outside the house.'
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