A man is fighting for his life in hospital following a house explosion in Manchester.
Fire crews and police were called to Ash Street in the Harpurhey area following the blast at about 10:20 BST.
Greater Manchester Police said the man was critically injured and taken to hospital.
Neighbouring properties were evacuated and a woman was also treated for what police said were thought to be minor injuries.
Ash Street and Rochdale Road were closed and people have been urged to avoid the area.
Neighbour Linda Kay, who has lived in the area for 28 years, said she thought a “bomb had gone off”.
“I was upstairs. I was supposed to be going on holiday this afternoon so my head was elsewhere,” said the 68-year-old.
“I’ve come down. I’ve just seen everything here and I thought ‘my god what’s happening’.
“The ambulance driver came over and said there’s been a really, really bad explosion.
“I thought a bomb had gone off.
“I did think it was bomb situation with all the response. It was quite scary.”