UK storm: Two people found dead in rubble after gas explosion sparked by falling tree Tree believed to have hit gas main creating blast that destroyed three terraced houses and damaged two more Neighbours describe explosion as an 'earthquake' with roof tiles flying through air and landing up to 50m away Tarpaulin and tiles from homes' roofs still lying embedded in branches of a tree on the opposite side of the road Rescue workers with sniffer dogs spent hours going through the wreckage yesterday in Hounslow, west London By Ryan Kisiel and Wills Robinson Two people were killed yesterday after a massive gas explosion caused by the high winds obliterated three homes. It is believed a falling tree hit a gas main creating a blast that destroyed the three terraced houses and severely damaged two more. Neighbours described the explosion as an "earthquake" with roof tiles flying through the air and landing up to 50 meters away. Rubble: A member of the public posted a photo of the damaged house on Twitter. Twelve people were evacuated after the explosion Tarpaulin and tiles from the homes' roofs last night still lay embedded in branches of a tree on the opposite side of the road. Rescue workers with sniffer dogs spent hours going through the wreckage after they were unable to reach two residents on their mobile phones. Using a specialist cherry-picker crane and small cameras, the body of a man aged in his 40s and an unidentified woman were eventually recovered from the rubble that was left of the house's first-floor. Three other people were injured and 25 people evacuated after the explosion on a main road close to Hounslow town centre, west London. An elderly woman was taken to hospital suffering "life-changing" burns and two others were treated for cuts and bruises. The area had been hit hard by the forceful storm winds with many sturdy fence panels ripped from the ground. Road maintenance worker Joe Stringer, 23, helped pull two women out of the demolished houses when he heard the explosion at 7.33am. He and two colleagues ran up the road when they saw the dust and debris of the blast 300 yards from their worksite. Mr Stringer said: "We drove past at 7.20am and there was a tree lying on top of a car outside the house. What it has done is pull the gas main up. We carried on to our compound up the road and were just chatting when suddenly there was a huge explosion. We saw a huge cloud of smoke and that's when we started running. It was that loud we thought something like a plane had crashed. We ran up towards it. As we arrived, a few people started getting out of the houses. There was a gent there asking for help to get an old lady out. She was just sitting there in the middle of the rubble with her dog on her lap. We managed to get her up and pass her over the rubble to another fellow. Crews also rescued a dog when they arrived at the scene yesterday morning We then helped another lady out. She was worried about her two dogs. I'm a bit upset to hear someone has died because we thought we got everyone out. I asked the woman if there were any more people in the house and she said no and was saying about her dogs. Another neighbour, Ross Ellis, 40, a hospital manager said: "I thought it was a car bomb. It was a huge bang. I looked out of my window and two old ladies were coming out of the wreckage. One had blood over her and there was a zimmer frame next to her. It was a horrible scene. Krishna Chevendra, 40, whose house backs onto the destroyed homes, said: "It was like a bomb going off, my windows were blown out. My kids were crying we took them away from the house, it was carnage. Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "I was saddened to learn of the deaths of a man and a woman in Hounslow following the storm. London Fire Brigade station manager Matt Burrows said: "When I arrived on the scene I was greeted by a scene of utter devastation and three houses had been completely destroyed. We're still investigating whether the fallen tree caused the gas explosion or whether the gas explosion caused the tree to fall. A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "At around 12pm, the body of a man aged in his 40s was found at one of the houses. Detectives believe they know the identity of the man and his next of kin have been informed. Family liaison officers are providing support. The body of a woman was found at around 1.30pm. Police are working to establish the identity of the woman. Post-mortem examinations will be held in due course.