Saved by her washing machine: Miracle on Penn Road as elderly woman escapes house explosion that rocked Wolverhampton suburb
[gallery] A pensioner was trapped in the rubble of her home for 90 minutes today after it was destroyed by a gas explosion - but miraculously escaped with cuts, bruises and a broken ankle.
Penn Road was closed between Lonsdale Road and Claremont Road in Penn Fields after the blast destroyed the property at around 8.15am.
The woman, 73, and named locally as Wendy Ayoub, was said to have been in her kitchen when the blast ripped through the property, causing the roof and first floor to collapse onto her.
She was wedged next to her washing machine but was conscious as firefighters tried to rescue her.
It took almost two hours to get her out as cutting tools could not be used due to the risk posed by the gas.
West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman Murray MacGregor said: "Due to the level of damage, ambulance staff worked closely with firefighters to rescue an elderly woman who was trapped in the property.
"Whilst the careful and methodical rescue was taking place, the paramedics from the Hazardous Area Response Team, were providing the woman with treatment in situ.
"The woman was carried down from the wreckage and assessed by the doctor from the air ambulance in the back of an ambulance.
"She has suffered cuts and bruises and a broken ankle, but when you consider the level of damage to the property, she has been extraordinarily lucky not to have been more seriously injured. She was taken by land ambulance to New Cross Hospital.
"A taxi driver who witnessed the explosion as he was driving by was also assessed by ambulance staff. Thankfully, apart from shock, he was uninjured and was released on scene.
"Two neighbours were also assessed for shock at the scene but were also discharged.
"Whilst a very difficult incident, the teamwork between ambulance, fire and police crews on scene was exemplary."
Penn Road resident Matt Eccles said: "I just heard a great big explosion that shook me out of bed and my neighbour told me that there had been a house that had exploded over the road.
"It was loud enough to wake me up, it was a proper explosion."
Mr Eccles added that he had not been evacuated, but could see emergency services working at the scene from his home.
Two drivers who were passing the scene are understood to have been left with minor injuries after being caught in the blast as they drove past.
Homes either side of the two-storey detached property were evacuated.
Motorists were being diverted via Lea Road.
