A 63-year-old man has died after a suspected gas explosion obliterated a house in Haxby, near York, police said.
An officer at the scene told reporters that they believe the man is a resident of the address and have informed "various members of his family".
"Formal identification is yet to take place. It will be some time before we can retrieve the body as the scene is still in a state of disarray. We need to be sure everyone is safe before doing that," he added.
The house where a 63-year-old man died after a suspected gas explosion in Haxby, near York
Emergency services were called to the detached building this morning.
They said they believed the cause to be a gas explosion but this has not been confirmed yet.
"Both properties either side are quite badly damaged," said a North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue representative at the scene.
He described the affected property as a "pile of rubble at the moment".
He added: "It has all the signs of a gas explosion but we cannot confirm that until we get the investigation under way."
The fire service will also be working with structural engineers to ascertain if the properties either side of the destroyed home are at risk of collapse themselves.
Emergency services are looking to isolate the gas supply. Currently the electricity board have switched off power within a 200-metre radius of the incident.
Officers will be working with Northern Gas Networks to investigate the possible cause of the incident.
Inspector Steve Breen of North Yorkshire Police said at the scene that there is nothing suspicious about the circumstances of the incident at the moment, but that they will be doing a "full investigation to make sure that nothing is missed".
A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police confirmed they were called to the scene at around 7.30am.
More than 30 firefighters were also deployed - working to extinguish several small blazes on arrival before conducting a search of the scene.
The urban search and rescue team are also in attendance as well as Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, who checked over two further people at the scene, although they did not require hospital treatment.
Windows in the neighbouring houses in the leafy residential cul-de-sac were blown out and debris scattered across the road and gardens.
Neighbours said the blast was heard across the area this morning.
The explosion sounded like a crash, one local said.
The man, who did not wish to be named, was around 150 yards away at the time and described the loud bang which he said had "flattened" the property and damaged others nearby.
"The house has been completely flattened. It sounded as if a bus or something had crashed into a house, or like an aeroplane crash," he told the Press Association.
"All the properties adjacent to the one that's blown up have got damaged windows and garages."
A neighbour said she felt the explosion from a street away.
She said: "There was a tremendous bang this morning. It shook the bed and the whole house."
Windows at St Margaret Clitherow Church in nearby Holly Tree Lane and the presbytery are also understood to have been damaged.
Other local residents also reported their houses were shaken by the blast, which some thought was an earthquake.
Sophie Pea tweeted: "Wtf I swear something just exploded in Haxby. My whole house just shook."
An ambulance service spokesman said: "Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) was called to the scene of a house explosion in Springwood, Haxby, near York, at 07.30 today.
"We deployed our hazardous area response team, three ambulances and two managers to the scene. One house has been destroyed and a number of neighbouring properties have also been damaged.
"There was one person in the property at the time of the explosion who has sadly been confirmed as deceased.
"We checked over two people on scene but neither required hospital treatment."
Peter Hurst, 30, said his father, David Hurst, lives in one of the neighbouring properties.
"He said he heard a big bang. He can't walk that well so he was really panicking but he's fine, he's shaken up a bit. The windows in his house have all gone." Dr Hurst said his father did not know his neighbours well.
Councillor Tony Richardson said: "At approximately 7.25am a loud bang was heard by everyone in the immediate area and the property, number 20, exploded for some reason, we believe it may have been gas.
"At the present time, it's just a pile of rubble. Unfortunately, there's a lot of damage. The properties, one on each side, are pretty badly damaged.
"We've got fire, police and gas and electric board here to ensure everything's safe so an investigation can be carried out."
Mr Richardson said there was no risk to any other properties in the area.
He said: "The families on each side have been evacuated. They're safe and, as far as I know, they've not been injured."
A search and rescue team was later seen inspecting the remains of the house with a search dog.
Gas engineers and fire crews also remained on the scene. A red and white striped cordon remained around the site of the destroyed house. Tiles had been blown off the roof of the house next door and properties across the road were also damaged.
A house in Haxby, near York, destroyed by an explosion. Credit: Rob Varley
A house in Haxby, near York, destroyed by an explosion. Credit: Rob Varley
Emergency services at the scene
Windows of neighbouring houses were blown out in the blast
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