Police believe there may still be people unaccounted for after a blast and subsequent fire destroy a shop and flats in Leicester
Skynews, 26 February 2018 – Four people were killed when an explosion destroyed a shop in a Leicester street, police have said.
Another four people are in hospital, one with serious injuries.
Six fire engines were sent to the Polish shop with two flats above it after members of the public reported a large blast in the area in Hinckley Road at around 7pm on Sunday.
During the night search and rescue teams found four bodies in the collapsed building.
They are continuing to carry out a rescue operation and believe more people may be trapped in the building, which was still on fire on Monday morning.
CCTV captures moment of explosion
“There are four confirmed fatalities at this stage and a number of people still undergoing treatment in hospital,” Leicestershire Police Superintendent Shane O’Neill said.
“We believe there may be people who have not yet been accounted for and rescue efforts continue in order to locate any further casualties.
“Once the site is deemed to be safe a joint investigation with Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service will begin looking into the circumstances surrounding the incident, which at this stage is not being linked to terrorism.”
Video show witnesses begin searching blast rubble
He asked anybody concerned about where their family members or friends are to get in contact with Leicestershire Police.
CCTV showed the moment the blast happened, with debris from the building being blasted across the road to the opposite pavement.
A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said firefighters were on their way to the scene when police told them a building had collapsed.
Video: Four dead as building collapses
Emergency services clear debris from the scene in Leicester
She said the two-storey building with a loft conversion – thought to be a Polish grocery shop with flats above it – suffered a “pancake collapse”.
Additional specialist search and rescue teams were sent to the scene on Hinckley Road, including a search and rescue dog from neighbouring Lincolnshire.
Police officers said nearby businesses and homes were quickly evacuated and occupants taken to a police station for their safety
video Fire after reported explosion
Emergency workers continue their rescue and search operation
Resident Kat Pattinson told Sky News: “We were just in the house… about 500m from where the blast has taken place.
“There was a bang and the whole house shook.
“The emergency services were in attendance, there was a lot of smoke, just an awful lot of smoke.
“It was just one event, so hopefully, whatever happened, it is in the process of being contained now… the building doesn’t appear to be there anymore.”
She described the building as “a shop with flats on top of it”.
Six people have been taken to hospital. Pic: Graeme Hudson
Another local, Harrish Patni, said the “big boom” was felt six doors down while he was at a nearby pizza shop prompting him to call 999.
He told Sky News: “We heard this massive explosion, the shop window six doors away vibrated and we thought it can’t be a car accident, it didn’t sound like a crash.
“We came outside and there was a big cloud of smoke, bricks all across the road.”
Another eyewitness, Tahir Khan, said the incident was “like a Hollywood movie”.
At the scene, Sky News Correspondent Tom Parmenter said the damage to the main building had been “very very significant”.
He said the shop had been “effectively demolished by the force of the explosion”.
Local journalist Laura Scigliano told Sky News: “I spoke to one lady who heard a massive bang. One man said he thought it sounded like a bomb. It looks like extensive damage… the building just looks like it has completely collapsed.”
Six people were initially taken to hospital
She described the road as one of the main routes into the city that was “usually very busy during the day”.
Leicestershire Police said: “The cause of the explosion will be the subject of a joint investigation by the police and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service.
“Electricity supply has been cut off for a number of properties in the Hinckley Road area while emergency services deal with the incident.”
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service’s assistant chief fire officer, Andrew Brodie, hailed the “tremendous effort” of emergency crews to deal with the incident through the “bitterly cold night”.
Carlisle Street and part of Hinckley Road remain closed.
