Two injured as blast destroys house in Brae

AN ELDERLY woman and a teenage boy have been taken to hospital following a gas explosion at a house in the north mainland of Shetland.

The explosion in Brae, which happened at just after 2pm, completely destroyed the building at Ockragarth, part of a housing estate known locally as Toy Town.

The boy is reported to have been in the bedroom when the explosion happened, and managed to “roll out” of the collapsed building with only minor injuries.

Neighbours helped the woman from the house and attended to her while waiting for the ambulance. A doctor from the Brae surgery also attended.

A neighbour, Georgia Smith, who lives about 100 yards from the scene, said she and her dad were enjoying the sun in the garden when the explosion occurred.

It took between 20-25 minutes for the first fire engine to arrive at the scene and a further 20 minutes for the ambulance to make it to Brae.

Police said the woman was at this stage not believed to have sustained life threatening injuries.

Fire fighters were seen on Tuesday afternoon dousing the building to keep the dust down from the asbestos roof of the collapsed building.