NEIGHBOURS rushed to the aid of trapped people after a gas blast destroyed a house.
A baby and a young boy were passed out of a window while four people dragged a man from under rubble.
One house in Wright Street, Newark, was destroyed while the house next door was severely damaged.
Four people – two adults and two children – were taken to hospital. A man was taken by air ambulance in a "serious condition".
As the Post went to press last night police said another person had been found in the rubble of the home and a specialist rescue team from Lincolnshire had been brought in to reach them. The debris was being removed brick by brick.
Another person was missing but believed to be in the wreckage.
Neighbour Cormac Fleming helped to rescue children from the house next to the blast property.
He said: "We ran over and smashed the window with a brick. Next thing the mother handed me a two-month-old baby and then a five-year-old boy. Then she came out.
"The main house was non existent. The whole front of the house came out and a large proportion of the one next to it.
"I took the baby. I was just acting on impulse."
The blast happened at 5.15pm yesterday.
Neighbours Audie Cashin and Isla MacDonald went to help a trapped man, pulling him to safety.
Four other people were helped to safety while firefighters and police searched for more.
Mr Cashin, 50, said: "I heard the explosion and it sounded like a bomb.
"I saw a leg in the rubble and four of us dragged an adult male out and he said 'my dad, my dad is in the cellar'."
Ms MacDonald, 59, said: "I live opposite. I was sitting in the front room and heard an almighty explosion.
"I jumped up and ran out of the house. I saw smoke and the house was gone."
More than 100 people were evacuated from their homes. Many went to the nearby Grove Leisure Centre.
People remaining in the area were asked to stay indoors and ensure windows were closed to reduce the effects of dust and any gas fumes.
Cordons were set up around the area.
Dot Steele, of nearby St Mary's Gardens, said: "I was just coming back after going out and we heard the bang. It scared my son. I've never seen anything like this in my whole life.
"I hope everyone is ok."
One witness said the family in the blast house were from Poland.
He said: "The house is knocked down completely. We were shouting into the rubble. I heard that a man came out covered in blood. He said his wife was inside in the bath and someone else was in the cellar.
"The house caught ablaze and we had to wait for the fire service. The property is completely destroyed. There is nothing left."
