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IN PICTURES: Aftermath of tragic Stafford fireworks blaze

[gallery] These pictures show the devastation caused by the Stafford fireworks tragedy.

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The flames take hold. Picture courtesy of a reader John Aris

Hundreds of rockets were sent exploding into the sky above an industrial unit.

Some residents were evacuated while others were warned to stay in their homes as smoke filled the streets.

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Two people are now known to have died.

Customer John Collins, from Sandringham Road, Penn, Wolverhampton, had just left the unit when the explosion happened.

The 53-year-old said: "I had just bought a few fireworks, and I was just putting them in the back of my van when the place when it all exploded," added Mr Collins. "The front just shot out of the shop."

One worker in the area, who did not want to be named, said he tried to help a man who appeared to have suffered burn injuries.

"The heat was just intense," he said. "It was really hot. First off you heard the bang. Then for an hour it was constant." Stephanie Horton, managing director of neighbouring unit boat recovery service River Canal Rescue, was inside the business at the time but managed to escape.

She said: "There was a big explosion. There were lots of flames, lots of fireworks going off.

"The explosions were going off at our front door. It was really scary, it is the thought of what could have happened."

Twitter user Jacon Willcox captured the blasts on video

Seb Kirby, a 23-year-old marine engineer from RCR, added: "I was outside in my van. You heard this bang and I thought someone had let off a firework, but the whole place was going up. It was such a shock." Residents in the area said they could hear the sound of fireworks going off for more than an hour. The orange glow of the blaze as firefighters used jets to control the scene could be seen hours later.

John Aris, who lives in nearby Danta Way, was at home when he heard the bang.

"When I first heard it I thought it was something in the house, I thought the cooker had exploded or something," said the 74-year-old photographer. Then I looked out the window and saw all the flames. There was a huge amount of noise, it was just bang, bang, bang. The main noise went on for around 25 or 30 minutes."

Mother-of-two Andrea McKenzie, from Danta Way, said: "I just heard a massive bang, then plumes of smoke, then the fireworks going off one after the other. It was like a massive boom. The 54 year-old said her house was 400 metres away but added: "You felt it from here, the house shook."

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Speaking on Friday evening as the deaths were confirmed, Supt Ian Coxhead, from Staffordshire Police, said: "This is a tragic development in a rare and challenging incident, our sympathies go out to the families of those who have sadly lost their lives.

"Our primary concern has been locating those who were unaccounted for.

"Our searches of the building will continue over the weekend as we work to establish the cause of the fire but it will take sometime due to the unstable structure of the building and dangerous environment we're working in.

"Residents and businesses are thanked for their understanding and patience. We will work as quickly as we can to get Tilcon Avenue back to normality and will keep the affected community updated."

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