Oldham gas explosion treated as ‘suspicious’

Two-year-old Jamie Heaton was killed and Anthony Partington, 27, was left with life-threatening burns after three terraced homes were reduced to rubble following the devastating incident in the Shaw area of Oldham.

Greater Manchester Police revealed they are treating the toddler’s death as suspicious and said they are aware of rumours that a domestic incident took place in the area of the explosion on Monday night.

Scores of firefighters, police and paramedics were scrambled to Buckley Street at around 11.15am on Tuesday following the explosion which rocked the immediate area and sparked an evacuation of residents.

Witnesses said the blast left the area looking like a war-zone, with emergency workers rushing to the scene and scouring the damaged properties for survivors.

The most badly hit houses were numbers 9 and 11, with search teams discovering the dead body of Jamie inside one of them. It his believed he lived at number 11 with parents Kenny and Michelle.

Severe burns

Anthony Partington, who is not related to the toddler, was airlifted to hospital suffering from severe burns. He remains in a serious but stable condition, police said.

According to locals the 27-year-old, who was a qualified joiner but had recently been made redundant, lived at the other rented property with his partner, mother-of-six Tanya Williamson.

Hammad Iltaf whose father, businessman Iltaf Hussain, is the couple’s landlord, said Mr Partington, believed to be originally from Rochdale, was at the address with the couple’s youngest child at the time of the blast.

Mr Iltaf’s brother Waqar Hussain, said the couple and their six children moved into the house only around six weeks ago.

Superintendent Neil Evans said police were aware of local rumours that a domestic incident took place in the area on Monday night.

He added: “What I can categorically say is that if that is the case, the police were not called.

“However, if anyone has any information about this, particularly if they think it might be relevant to what happened today, I would urge them to get in touch.”

Channel 4 News reporter Ciaran Jenkins has been to the scene of the explosion. He writes:

Turning onto Buckley Street, the full horror of the blast is exposed. Number nine is obliterated. The houses either side have tumbled into the gap it left behind.

Children’s toys, clothes and family portraits poke out out from bundles of bricks in the road. Nearby homes have been blown out of shape.
Residents have been evacuated and have no idea when they’ll be allowed back.

Engineers say more houses could yet crumble. Looking at this, it’s hard to believe anyone survived.

‘Absolutely distraught’

Mr Evans also said Jamie’s family had been left “absolutely distraught” by his death.

“This incident has shocked the community of Shaw and I want to reassure them that all emergency services are committed to helping those whose homes are damaged in whatever way we can and to get all others who have been evacuated back home as soon as possible,” he added.

Locals caught up in the drama described how their houses shook as the blast hit.

Mr Hussain, 23, who lives around the corner from Buckley Street said: “I just got home and at first I just thought it was my ceiling because it collapsed in.

“I went out and saw everybody’s windows smashed and cars in the street wrecked. People were shouting and screaming.”

The warehouse manager added: “Just two minutes before I had walked past, I could have been done in as well. There were tiles, slates, bricks, all over the street.”

“I got to the street and the three houses that had been there were just rubble. I was worried if someone was trapped.”

National Grid said it had received a report of a smell of gas in the Edmund Street and Buckley Street area before the blast happened.