Two dead after garden explosion sparks house fire in Wales
Two people were killed in a house fire on Friday after a mystery explosion in a quiet Welsh village.
Emergency services were called to the property in Heol Fawr, Nelson, Caerphilly, south Wales, at 6.10pm after reports of a house fire believed to have started after an explosion in the garden.
Forensic teams attended the two-storey house on Saturday.
A Gwent Police spokesperson said: ‘Two people have sadly been pronounced dead at the scene and their family has been informed.
‘The incident is ongoing and the road is currently closed. Diversions are in place to ensure your safety.
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‘Please find an alternative route for your journey. If you live locally, please ensure all doors and windows are closed.’
Specialist fire crews were at the scene on Saturday morning to carry out a structural assessment of the property, where a cordon remains in place.
There is visible damage to a home inside the cordon. Its windows are smashed and there is smoke damage.
The road, near to the centre of the village of Nelson, remained closed off around the house.
Neighbours described seeing the home on fire, with an extensive response from emergency services on Friday.
The Tylers Arms pub, which is next door to the site of the blaze, posted on social media to say it was unable to open while police carry out their investigation.
The pub said in a Facebook post that it was ‘unable to open while police carry out their investigation at our neighbours’, adding: ‘We appreciate this is last minute cancellation for band night and Sunday lunches but we are sure you will understand’.
Eifion Ap Llwyd Dafydd, a councillor for Nelson, described seeing ‘smoke billowing’ from the property.
He said: ‘I was coming home that way just after the fire engine arrived.
‘Smoke was billowing out of the property. There was a toxic smell from the fire in the air.
‘I couldn’t see flames but I did hear other people talking about flames from the other side of the property than where I was.
‘I’ve been talking to people here today. Everybody is solemn and very sad.
‘Tragic is one description that is being used about the whole thing.’
The councillor added that the blaze marked the first time in the 20 years he has lived in Nelson that a ‘serious house fire’ has occured.
He described Nelson as a close-knit community.
A spokesperson for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said the fire service and Gwent Police are planning an investigation into the explosion.
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