Worshippers had a "miracle" escape after an explosion destroyed part of their temple.

More than 30 people were in or near the Hare Krishna Temple in North Evington when a gas explosion caused flames to tear through the kitchen at about 2.40pm yesterday.

One man trapped upstairs threw himself from a first-floor window as other members of the temple, in Thoresby Street, screamed for him to get out the building.

Another man said the force of the blast blew him out of the door.

But amazingly, just a few people suffered minor injuries.

Sandeep Patel, 28, was forced to jump from upstairs. He said: "I just heard a bang, looked out of the window and everyone outside was just shouting, 'get out'.

"I jumped on to the a ledge of a window below. I heard the explosion but that's about it, I couldn't really think."

Worshippers were using a gas cylinder to cook food for a religious celebration.

Firefighters said one man disconnected the cylinder but realised gas was still leaking and urged everyone outside just seconds before the explosion.

Incident commander Bill Smith, of the Leicester Eastern fire station, said: "There's no doubt about it, this saved people's lives.

"I don't believe anyone was taken to hospital, although several people were treated for shock and very minor injuries at the scene.

"It's absolutely amazing. It's a miracle that no-one was seriously injured or even killed."

At the height of the blaze, some 35 firefighters were tackling the flames, which spread to a next-door neighbour's garage.

Specialist rescue teams and search dogs were used following initial reports that people were trapped.

One temple member, who was inside at the time of the blast, said: "I heard a hissing noise and looked out the front door and saw people getting out.

"There was a big bang and I just got thrown through the exit.

"There was glass and debris everywhere.

"I picked myself up though. I was OK."

Dozens more temple members had been commemorating Janmashtami, the birth of Krishna, on Thursday. A smaller group attended the celebrations as they continued yesterday.

Nima Gajjar, whose husband, Pradip, is president of the temple, said: "Luckily, there weren't that many people inside the building. Being such a nice day, we were sitting outside on the patio.

"We heard a really loud gushing noise and just got everyone out.

"It was very frightening, very shocking. You just go into auto-pilot. People were shouting, 'get everyone out, get everyone safe'.

"We are very, very lucky it didn't happen yesterday because there were many more people here then.

"It could have been catastrophic. I can't believe that no-one has been hurt."

Dozens of residents felt the explosion in the neighbouring streets and rushed outside to watch the drama unfold.

Ankit Patel, 18, lives next to the temple in Thoresby Street.

He said: "I was sleeping and I heard the explosion.

"I looked out of my window and everyone was walking outside and screaming.

"It spread to our garage and that's collapsed."

James Revffy, 35, also of Thoresby Street, said: "It was like a bomb had gone off, the houses were shaking."

Residents living in The Langhill also felt the blast.

One man said: "I heard it and then came running down.

"The fire spread so quickly, it was a huge blaze within seconds."