United news
At least one person died after an explosion at a kebab shop.
The blast, thought to have been caused by a gas leak, happened at about 3am in Bishop Alcock Road, Hull.
A Humberside Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said the body of a heavily burnt person was recovered from the building.
The explosion forced the evacuation of several families from their homes, and a further two people were rescued from the blaze by firefighters.
The spokesman said: "We found at least one body but we have been unable to get on to the upper areas of the building at the moment. There may be more, we just don't know."
Earlier, he said the explosion appeared to have centred around a fast-food takeaway shop, and the shops either side of that, including a hairdressers, were badly affected.
He said two people, a man and a woman, were trapped in a "severe fire" in separate flats above the shop, and were rescued by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus.
Both were taken to Hull Royal Infirmary, but their injuries are not thought to be life threatening.
About 20 houses in the west Hull area have been evacuated, and 20 or 30 houses have been affected by the blast, with either their windows blown out or structurally damaged.
The security shutters on the windows of the shop at the centre of the incident were blown 250 metres away by the force of the explosion, the spokesman said. Many vehicles in the area were also damaged.
---------------------------
what is happening in this world
