Friends and family pay tribute to Birmingham house explosion victim
A woman who was killed when a gas blast tore her home apart has been named by neighbours.
Doreen Rees-Bibb was reportedly at home with her husband when an explosion which could be heard across Birmingham levelled the terrace house.
The 79-year-old was ‘the life and soul of the party’, friends and family told The Sun.
One person who knew her said: ‘She was full of warmth and love, and she had a heart of pure gold. We are all distraught.’
A family member said: ‘She was full of warmth and love, and she had a heart of pure gold. We are all distraught.’
Neighbours told the paper that a man who was rescued from the burning wreckage by fearless members of the public was husband David Murphy.
His niece Terri Ann Noble, 42, told The Sun: ‘David is a lovely man, he’s so funny and he’ll do anything for anybody.
‘His children Dean and Kate will be going through hell right now, they absolutely adore him, they love him to bits.’
Around a dozen people dug through rubble to rescue the seriously injured man from the collapsed house, according to witnesses.
The bloodied victim was carried to safety on a mattress shortly after the home was blown apart in the blast on Sunday evening.
Kiera Parkinson, whose boyfriend Callum Attwood was among those who helped at the scene in Birmingham, said: ‘We’re so proud of literally every single person that risked their lives to go in there and help somebody else.’
Martin Ward-White, an area commander at West Midlands Fire Service, said it ‘was clear that a gas explosion had taken place’.
Speaking from the street on Monday, he said: ‘There was one male casualty who was taken to hospital immediately with life-threatening injuries.
‘There’s no update on that casualty at this point in time.
‘However, what we can confirm is that sadly one female has lost her life at this incident.’
More than 20 people were evacuated nearby and a handful were treated at the scene for minor wounds.
The fire service said good progress was being made at the scene and a drone was being used to identify hot spots.
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