Hospitals on ‘major alert’ after explosion leaves one person ‘missing in rubble’

A ‘huge explosion’ that felt like an ‘earthquake’ ripped apart a building in the early hours in South Wales last night sparking a massive emergency response. One person still unaccounted for and feared “missing in the rubble.”

Flames and smoke were seen after a fire broke out at a property on Severn Road, Treforest Industrial Estate, at around 7pm on Wednesday. The two-storey building was “totally alight” and “at risk of collapse”, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said.

Three people were treated at the scene before they were discharged, a Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said. Local NHS emergency departments were on “high alert” after the blaze, with people asked not to attend A&E unless “absolutely necessary”.

There are no reports of any serious injuries, however one person remains unaccounted for, South Wales Police said. Significant road closures remain in place and the public is requested to avoid the area.

Local MP Alex Davies-Jones, MP for Pontypridd, said on Wednesday evening there had been “walking wounded” after the blast and a local business owner said her tattoo shop “just exploded”.

Speaking to the BBC, the manager of a nearby Esso garage, Krishnaraj Nadarajah, said he contacted the fire service and shut off the pumps at the station. He said: “It felt like it was an earthquake or something.”

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