A NORTH EAST house destroyed by a suspected gas explosion is being pulled down as demolition teams have moved onto the site.
The house on Whickham Street in Roker, Sunderland, was left severely damaged after the blast just before 4pm on Tuesday (February 15).
Two people were taken to hospital with blast injuries as Northumbria Police yesterday confirmed one man's condition had deteriorated and was critical but stable.
Read more: Man injured in suspected gas explosion now in critical but stable condition
But today (February 17), the home - which is two flats - looked largely demolished as the entire first floor and roof had been reduced to a pile of rubble.
At around midday, contractors could be seen as a huge gap was left where the house once stood just 72 hours ago.
The demolition comes as fears were last night raised by neighbours who said they may be forced to move out permanently, subject to a structural assessment.
John Ellis, who lives in the upstairs flat next to the demolished home, said he feared losing his possessions if the decision was made to raze the entire block.
Read more: Man who lives next door to destroyed home fears whole 'block' may be torn down
He told The Northern Echo: “You go through what’s going to happen next, our whole life is in that flat, our clothing, passports, everything.”
Mr Ellis, who lives with his father John Waterworth, was not in the home at the time of the blast but said he had not been allowed to return.
He said: “We were told this morning that they’re doing a structural survey, there’s a chance we could go into the property tomorrow."
On Wednesday, Gentoo which owns the flats involved, confirmed damage is being assessed and that it remained in contact with the residents involved.
Nigel Wilson, Chief Executive Officer at Gentoo, said: “The damage is being assessed and we will know more once the structural engineer has completed their report. We will secure the site as quick as we can once it is safe to do so."
At the time, Gentoo did not confirm whether there were plans to demolish the whole block, which is understood to comprise of eight flats.
However, in an update on Thursday afternoon, Gento confirmed that there are no plans to demolish any other homes at this moment in time.
They said they needed to assess the damage of the other properties once the affected home is demolished and cleared.
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