A DAD-OF-THREE whose family home of nearly 20 years is set to be demolished after a freak gas explosion has spoken of his devastation.
Mushtaq Anwar was at home with his wife, his daughter, 21, and son, 17, when the blast ripped through the house next door to his end terrace on Nelson Street in Fishpool, Bury, on Wednesday.
Emergency services raced to the scene at around 11am following the major blast and a woman - aged in her 70s - was rushed to hospital with serious injuries. Residents on Nelson Street were forced to leave their homes with several returning to the scene in the hope of retrieving their belongings.
Among them was Mushtaq, who has been told that his house is set to be demolished along with the property at the centre of the blast and the other house adjoining it.
Speaking from the police cordon that remained in place on Nelson Street as investigations continued, he told the M.E.N.: "I'm absolutely shaken. We have lived here for 18 years and have a lot of memories. I'm shocked. My children haven't slept."
Recalling the moment of the blast, he said: "I was with my wife and two kids, my third child was at school, when we heard the explosion. When we came down everything was falling down. There were huge flames."
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