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Two die as stolen car crashes in Salford | Two die as stolen car crashes in Salford |
(about 7 hours later) | |
Two people were killed when a stolen car crashed into eight parked cars and caught fire in Greater Manchester. | Two people were killed when a stolen car crashed into eight parked cars and caught fire in Greater Manchester. |
Police said they had been in pursuit for a short time but stressed the car was not being followed when it crashed on Leigh Road, Boothstown, Salford. | Police said they had been in pursuit for a short time but stressed the car was not being followed when it crashed on Leigh Road, Boothstown, Salford. |
The Audi was stolen in a raid on a property in Farnworth, ten minutes before the crash on Thursday evening. | |
It is thought the two people killed were in the Audi which burst into flames on impact. | It is thought the two people killed were in the Audi which burst into flames on impact. |
Police said the impact of the crash and explosion was so severe that the pair's bodies are unrecognisable. | |
Ch Supt Kevin Mulligan said: "One of our priorities is to establish the identity of the two people who have died." | |
'Crash fireball' | |
He added: "I urge anyone who may know who they are to come forward. I know that there may be two families out there who have not been contacted by a loved one and our job is to make this devastating time as easy as possible for them." | |
Six cars caught fire while four nearby houses also suffered heat damage with cracked windows. Nine cars were damaged overall, said firefighters. | |
One resident Nigel Bertenshaw said: "There was a fireball, I just went back into my house to get out of the way." | |
Another resident Joe Horne said: "We heard a screech and it wasn't so much a boom as a thud." | |
Four fire engines with 25 firefighters tackled the burning cars. | Four fire engines with 25 firefighters tackled the burning cars. |
Police pursuit | |
Greater Manchester Police believe the car was stolen in an aggravated burglary at a house on Boscombe Gardens in Farnworth at about 20:25 GMT on Thursday. | |
Three men are understood to have arrived outside the property in a silver Vauxhall Vectra, before two of them got out, smashed a house window and grabbed the keys to the red Audi S4 Quattro parked outside. | |
They threatened a neighbour who challenged them while he was putting out his bins and both cars were driven off at speed. | |
The Audi was then spotted on Walkden Road by a passing police car. | |
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said "a short pursuit followed" but the officer lost sight of the car. | A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said "a short pursuit followed" but the officer lost sight of the car. |
Police then received reports the Audi, with the registration number M50 UKC, had hit a number of parked cars on Leigh Road. | |
The Vectra was later found abandoned on Mill Brow in Worsley. | |
The force has referred the incident to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. | |
Leigh Road is likely to be closed for most of the day, police said. | Leigh Road is likely to be closed for most of the day, police said. |