The Worcester Fire Department was already there monitoring that smoke when it exploded, blowing off one of the covers. Flames were then seen shooting out of the manhole, and the fire department ...

Worcester firefighters responded to the area ... “It’s a miracle that manhole cover didn’t hit her, it flew 100 feet in the air,” said Nick Neslusin, a bartender at MB Lounge.

Apparently this sometimes happens due to gasses building up below the road and then getting ignited by high-voltage cables.

Dad Steven Pearce can be heard warning her 'not to go past the drain' moments before a 'wafer thin' manhole cover flips up and she falls through a '60cm x 40cm' gap. The panicked 40-year-old says ...