A woman has been found dead at the scene of a major gas explosion that destroyed a house in Birmingham and damaged others.

“We’re very sad to confirm that a woman has been found dead at the scene,” West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) said.

A man also suffered life-threatening injuries in the blast in Dulwich Road, Kingstanding, which happened just after 20:30 BST on Sunday.

At least three other homes were damaged and properties were evacuated.

The man was rescued from the house by people at the scene but had suffered “very serious” injuries, the ambulance service said.

Four other men suffered more minor injuries and were discharged by paramedics.

Martin Ward-White, the incident commander for WMFS, said the woman who died was found “relatively quickly within the property that exploded”.

Footage on social media showed flames engulfing the terraced red brick house.

“The next steps for the fire service and gas board will be to start the investigation into what caused this explosion,” Mr Ward-White said. “We know it is gas but what actually caused that gas explosion.

“This will probably take a substantial amount of time.”

Residents said they had clambered past flaming debris and through rubble to reach the man.

“Everyone was watching, the house was on fire, nobody was going in, so we could see a way in – so we went in the house, me and about a dozen others,” a man, who did not want to be named, told the PA news agency.

A neighbour who lives six doors away from the explosion said he heard a loud bang and came out to see efforts to help.

“[They] managed to pull somebody out of the rubble but as he was getting pulled out he was saying there was somebody left inside but they wasn’t able to help any further as the flames started to get bigger and bigger,” he said.

Kashif Mahmood was driving past with his family when the house exploded and the shockwave smashed into his car.

“All the airbags, windows, roof were broken,” he said.

“It was really shocking and it was really scary. We are all OK but my kids are still in shock.”

Phil Mackie, BBC Midlands correspondent

It is a scene of devastation today. The blast destroyed one house and has caused severe damage to several others.

Debris is strewn across the street and one car which was upended has now been moved. 

Fire investigators, working alongside specialists from the gas company, have begun sifting through the wreckage as they try to determine what caused the explosion. 

Some residents who were evacuated last night have been allowed to return to their homes this morning to collect any essentials but have been told they may not be allowed to stay in their homes again tonight.

Others simply can’t access their properties because the damage is so extensive. 

Twenty-one people were evacuated and had gone to stay at other houses and hotels provided by the city council.

Emma Core, assistant manager at the nearby Kingstanding Inn, said the council asked the pub to take in people who had been evacuated.

“They were all feeling sad and low, worrying about their belongings. Some people came, they had not got shoes, they only had slippers on their feet,” she said.

West Midlands Police said Dulwich Road and surrounding roads were closed and would be “for a very long time”.

Cadent, the gas emergency service for the West Midlands, said its teams were on site as part of the multi-agency response and added its thoughts were with those affected.

Were you in the area? Did you witness the incident? If you feel able to do so please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways: