‘I thought I was dead’ says man in gas blast
A MAN who was inside a house in Cornwall ripped apart by a gas explosion said he thought he had died.
Darren Cornish, 48, was with his parents, Alan and Josie, in the house at Traly Close, Bude, blown apart when leaking gas ignited. Miraculously, no one was badly hurt.
Mrs Cornish went to hospital with burns and Darren said his own hair was singed. “Dad was unscathed,” he added.
“The house is ready to fall to bits,” Darren said. “It was really scary. I saw my life flash before my eyes. I thought I was dead, I really thought I had died.”
THREE people had a remarkable escape from a house, after a fireball destroyed the building when leaking gas ignited.
The house in Bude was a scene of devastation yesterday, after the blast on Wednesday night.
Pictures from Traly Close in Bude, near the Devon-Cornwall border, show the scale of the damage that has been left behind.
Emergency services were called out to the scene at around 9pm after receiving reports of an “explosion at a domestic property and a strong smell of gas in the area”.
Darren Cornish, 48, one of the trio inside the house when it exploded, has described it as “like a bomb” going off.
Darren and his father, Alan, were watching television in the living room of the house, which belongs to his parents. Both were falling asleep and could smell gas.
Darren said he and his mother, Josie, went to the kitchen to inspect the gas oven, and when the oven door was opened a “massive” fireball erupted.
Darren said: “The house is ready to fall to bits. It was really scary.”
The property is owned by Darren’s parents, Alan Cornish, 73, and Josie Cornish, 75, who were enjoying an evening in with their son at the time.
Darren, a paramedic, revealed his elderly parents had “lost everything” as the home was not insured.
He said he feared there was a gas leak, so he went to investigate with his mother. She instinctively turned on the cooker to try and show it was working correctly.
Darren said he tried to stop her but it was too late, and the pair were thrown against a wall. Both suffered burns to their face and hands and their hair was singed.
Darren said: “I’m OK, I’m alive. I was up with my mum and dad and we were sat in the lounge watching TV.
“Me and my dad kept falling asleep, which I thought was odd, then I thought I could smell gas, so I asked if the cooker was working.
“I went to check and my mum came with me. It was all off and mum went to show me that the oven was working OK and before I could stop her she lit the oven and bang – up it went.”
The force of the explosion knocked Darren and his mum off their feet, and in that moment he thought he had died – and said he saw his whole life flash before his eyes.
He said: “It was like a bomb had gone off. I could hear mum screaming.
“I grabbed her and took her outside. Dad was still in the front room sitting in his chair watching the TV – although the television had gone off by this point.
“I lifted mum over the rubble and one of my mates who lived opposite came over to help get them out.
“We had to manhandle my dad out because he’s a big guy.
“There was water everywhere and gas was hissing, so then I just got myself out and waited for the fire brigade to arrive.”
Despite being in the room with the explosion, Darren said he only suffered superficial injuries, including singing his hair.
His mum was taken to hospital to be checked, and his dad, who recently had a heart attack, was thoroughly examined by paramedics.
Darren continued: “Mum went to hospital, she had some burns to her face and hands. Dad was unscathed.
“It was just instinct to get out and get everyone out the house.”
Alan and Josie, who have three children and six grandchildren, did not have any home insurance on their property and many of their possessions were destroyed.
Darren added: “We’ve been nagging them to get insurance for years but they’re old-school, never had a mortgage and didn’t have insurance.
“They’ve lost everything – house, and their belongings.”
Fire engines from Bude and Holsworthy were sent to the blast, with specialist shoring equipment. their