A child died today after a massive explosion wrecked a house in the Shaw area of Oldham, police said.
A second person was trapped in the rubble following the blast, in the Shaw area of Oldham.
A third was unaccounted for and a fourth, a man, suffered severe burns in the incident, which is thought to have been caused by a gas leak.
Emergency services described the explosion, which damaged a number of terraced properties, as "very serious".
Superintendent Neil Evans of Greater Manchester Police told reporters at the scene that the child had been confirmed dead.
Supt Evans said: "This is an ongoing search and rescue effort and we are offering our full support to the fire and other emergency services.
"Our main and immediate focus right now is to assist in ensuring those injured in the explosion get any medical assistance that they need."
A spokeswoman for the North West Ambulance Service said one patient had been taken by helicopter to Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester with 80% burns.
"We are currently assessing the scene and working closely with other members of the emergency services, with our priority being to ensure people receive the medical help they need as quickly as possible," she said.
In a statement, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said: "One man has been rescued following a possible gas explosion in Shaw in Oldham.
"The control room has received numerous calls from members of the public and the initial information from the public is that it involves a number of terraced properties in Duchess Street with possibly people trapped."
Steve McGuirk, chief fire officer for Greater Manchester, said in a tweet: "Just had an update on the incident in Oldham - very serious, we have crews and search and rescue teams on scene working hard."
Police said the emergency services were alerted shortly after 11.15am.
Greater Manchester Fire Service said more than 30 firefighters were at the scene carrying out a search of the immediate area.
Those involved included specialist search and rescue teams, with a dog, and colleagues from Lancashire Fire Service.
Read More
Alex Perkins, who lives on Duchess Street, told the BBC: "It's like a war zone - tiles that have blown off literally across the streets, there's just debris everywhere. It's mad.
"It's just empty, there's nothing there, just bricks on the floor, just rubble."
Georgian Ulla, who also lives on the street, added: "All the lights shook - I thought someone was breaking in to begin with," she said.
"First thing that I saw was all the toys on the floor. Apparently there are kids that live in the house."
Shaw ward councillor Mark Alcock, who lives a quarter of a mile away, said: "An end-terrace house has been completely flattened and properties up to 800 metres away have had their windows blown in.
"It's a real mess."
Mr Evans confirmed a child had died in the explosion, a further victim was in hospital with 80% burns, another male unaccounted for and a fourth person trapped.
"One individual we can see, we are trying to remove debris to get that person out," he added.
No further information was given on any of the four people involved in the explosion.
Mr Evans said gas was "one element" the investigation will focus on.
