Man dies after suspected gas explosion in flats

A man has died after a suspected gas explosion at a block of flats in Cornwall, police have said.

Emergency services were called to Pendennis Place, Penzance at about 15:10 BST on Wednesday.

Police said a man in his 40s from the area had been taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth but subsequently died.

The force said it was investigating the cause but there was "no wider threat to the public".

A number of people who live in neighbouring flats were evacuated and provided with alternative accommodation.

Lillian Outram, who lives nearby, said: "I was upstairs and I heard this bang. Well, it wasn't like a bang, it was like an explosion.

"I was absolutely terrified."

Pat Landricombe, who also lives nearby, said the incident was "very stressful".

"It's shocking, in 50 odd years I've never seen anything like it, it's dreadful," she said.

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