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A woman and her teenage daughter were taken to hospital today after a terraced house collapsed into the street, residents have claimed.
People fled, screaming, as the Portsmouth home crashed to the ground around 8.30am this morning after a next-door neighbour saw ‘awful cracks forming along the walls’ inside her own property.
Shocking photographs show the destruction caused by the collapse, which some locals described as sounding like a ‘big lorry crashing.’
Nearby homes were evacuated, while the two people – one of whom reportedly fled the home covered in blood – were treated by paramedics on scene and then taken to hospital.
Emergency services including police, fire crews, and ambulances had dashed to the scene. Officials say the investigation has now been handed over to engineers as ‘utility companies worked to isolate the power and gas supply’.
Aerial image shows the house collapse on Langford Road in Portsmouth on Wednesday morning
Firefighters rushed to the property on Langford Road, Portsmouth, after reports that after the roof had crumbled
Next-door neighbour Verity Earl, who was helping her six-year-old son get ready for school, recalled hearing ‘some cracking noises’ before this morning’s collapse.
‘It sounded like this awful crack forming. Plaster was coming off the wall and it looked like the wall was moving,’ Ms Earl told The Portsmouth News.
‘We left a couple of minutes before it collapsed. The front of the house just fell out.
‘Another neighbour said they had massive cracks in their wall this morning after what happened.’
Amanda Cumming, who has lived across the street for two years, said she saw the residents, whom she described as a mother and her daughter, evacuating the home.
She said a woman left the home ‘covered in blood’ and alleged the teenager escaped by climbing over a fence in the garden.
Authorities were unable to confirm information about the victims to MailOnline.
Ms Cumming also recalled how the collapse sounded as if a ‘big lorry’ had crashed, as she recalled hearing children scream and someone yell ‘phone the fire brigade’.
Two casualties were treated by South Central Ambulance Service paramedics before they were taken onto hospital
Another neighbour in her 50s, who has lived on the street for 40 years, said: ‘I heard a loud sound like a massive bottle bin being emptied and then children screaming.
‘I looked out of the window and I saw a massive cloud of grey dust – you couldn’t see down the street.
‘There could have been lots of kids around because it was the morning school run. I rang the police straight away.
‘It was a real shock and people started rushing out of their houses to see what on earth had happened.
‘I think the kitchens are at the back of those houses so hopefully they were safe.
‘I think that the houses on either side of the one which collapsed are being renovated at the moment – these houses are over 100 years old people like to give them a makeover.
‘We’re very concerned for the victims not having a house, especially at Christmas.’
John Plumridge, a 60 year old business owner who lives on the other side of the street to the collapsed house, said: ‘I saw the house collapsed and that it had also ripped the roof off the one next door – I could see into the attic of the neighbouring house.
‘We were just amazed. I can’t think why it would collapse like that, it must be a sink hole or something.’
Authorities did not confirm neighbourhood reports of a possible sink hole or nearby homes being actively under renovation.
Aerial image shows the building collapse on Langford Road, Portsmouth, just after 8.30 on Wednesday
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service evacuated a number of houses on the street
A Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said: “Firefighters were called at 8.30am to Langford Road in Portsmouth after a terraced house collapsed this morning.
“One crew from Southsea Fire Station and an Urban Search and Rescue advisor were in attendance to assess the damage and make the scene safe.
“Two casualties were treated by South Central Ambulance Service paramedics before they were taken onto hospital.
“A number of houses were evacuated and the road was closed as a cordon was put in place.
“The incident was handed over to Hampshire Constabulary and Portsmouth City Council engineers as utility companies worked to isolate the power and gas supply.”
A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: “We were called at 8.30am to Langford Road following reports of a building collapse.
“We are assisting our colleagues at Portsmouth City Council with the road closure so they can evacuate nearby houses.”
MailOnline has approached Portsmouth City Council for comment.
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