Explosion destroys shop and leaves man seriously injured

An explosion has destroyed a shop and left a man in hospital with serious injuries in Glasgow.

The 29-year-old man was trapped in the rubble caused by the blast before fire and ambulance crews managed to free him in the east end of the city.

He is currently being treated for burns to his back and serious leg injuries in hospital after the explosion tore through the premises in Springboig Road around 3am on Friday.

Only one wall of the building is remaining after the explosion.

Fire crews initially received reports that a car had crashed into the shop and caused the blast.

According to eyewitnesses the man was trapped by his legs under the rubble and was screaming for help.

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue sent out three appliances to deal with the incident in the Springboig area and they are expected to remain at the scene of the blast throughout the day.

Rubble from the destroyed shop has been strewn across the road in the east end of the city, while Strathclyde Police and Glasgow City Council are also involved in the response to the blast.

The ambulance service confirmed the injured man is currently being treated at the Royal Infirmary while a spokeswoman said its special operations response team (Sort) continue to deal with the aftermath of the explosion.

The team is deployed by the emergency service in response to "major incidents".

Police have closed off the road to motorists with diversions along Tynecastle Street in place.

Engineers from Scotland Gas Networks were called out to deal with the explosion. The firm said there was not a mains gas supply in the building.

A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said the man is in a "serious but stable" condition in hospital after being removed from the rubble of the former shop.

She said "Police and fire service forensics remain on the site trying to establish the cause of the explosion."

Anne Neilson, of Scotland Gas Networks, said: "As the gas emergency service, engineers from Scotland Gas Networks attended a commercial property in Springboig Road, Glasgow earlier this morning following reports of an explosion.

"We previously confirmed the property does not have a mains gas supply. As a matter of routine we carried out checks on the gas network in the surrounding area. These investigations are complete; the gas network has not contributed to what happened and our engineers have left site."

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