From North West Ambulance Service:
A major incident was declared earlier this morning following an explosion on Mallowdale Avenue, Heysham.
We were called at 02:39 to reports of an explosion and arrived on the scene at 02:47, where we worked alongside Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and Lancashire Police.
We sent multiple resources to the incident, including six ambulances, an advanced paramedic, four doctors and two on-scene commanders to manage the response.
Our hazardous area response team (HART), which is specially trained to work with the fire and rescue service in major incidents, was also in attendance.
We treated five casualties at the scene. Four people were taken to hospital, two with serious injuries, and sadly a young child has died as a result of the incident. Our sincere condolences are with their family and loved ones.
Our thoughts remain with all the residents of Mallowdale Avenue and surrounding areas who are affected.
We would like to thank the public for their patience and assistance while we dealt with this incident and express our gratitude to all our staff and emergency service colleagues who have worked extremely hard over the last few hours and continue to do so.
