Firefighters remain at the scene of an explosion affecting a number of houses on Mallowdale Avenue in Morecambe.
Ben Norman, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, said: “We were called in the early hours of the morning and crews mobilised from local fire stations to find a significant explosion. At the peak of emergency operations, we had 10 fire engines and in the region of 80 firefighters at the scene, along with specialist search and rescue teams and search dogs.
“Rescue operations were carried out working with Lancashire Constabulary and North West Ambulance Service, to bring people to safety and treat those injured. Tragically a young child has lost their life today and naturally our thoughts are with the family of that individual at this terrible time.
“Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service remains on the scene with partner agencies and will continue to do so over the coming days to carry out a methodical investigation to understand exactly what happened at this incident.”
A safety cordon remains in place while safety work and enquiries continue.
A number of residents were evacuated and continue to be looked after by the local authority.
Gas service engineers continue working to make the area safe.
Anyone with any information should contact police on 101 quoting log 0180 of May 16th or on the Major Incident Portal at https://mipp.police.uk/operation/0401020121W04-PO1.
Any local residents who require support can contact Lancaster City Council on 01524 582000 or 01524 67099.
Full details of the incident are available here.