A seven year-old boy has died and six other people have been hospitalised after a gas explosion destroyed three houses in Newcastle’s Benwell area.
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00:00A seven-year-old boy has died and six people have been taken to hospital with injuries
00:04following an explosion in the early hours of this morning in the Benwell region of Newcastle.
00:09Eyewitnesses described a very loud bang and a bright flash and some people said that they
00:14thought there had been an explosion. Northumbria Police Superintendent Darren Adams advised
00:18that despite the efforts of the emergency services, the young boy tragically died at
00:23the scene. Northern Gas Networks advised people to keep their doors and windows shut in the
00:27area and did state that their engineers are at the scene. The West End Women and Girls
00:32Centre has said that anybody who's been evacuated is welcome there for some warmth, food and drinks
00:38and the nearby Red Cross Evacuation Centre has been given out items that include mobile phone
00:43charges and food to residents who've been displaced. City Council leader Karen Kilgour
00:48said that housing officers were on site to support residents and that the safety of residents remains
00:53their absolute priority. She's also said that the council will continue to provide assistance
00:58in any way that they can.