Leicester Building Explosion (U.K)
Channel: Q&A News
Date: 26/02/2018

On Sunday the 25th of February 2018 at approximately 7:01pm, a building exploded killing at least five people in Hinckley Road, Leicester, England, United Kingdom.

Residents said they heard "a big thud, like an earthquake" at the time of the blast in Hinckley Road at about 19:00 GMT on Sunday.

Leicester explosion detected on Hazel road school seismometer at 19:01:45 by BGS schoolseismology@Schoolseismo
https://twitter.com/Schoolseismo/status/967897245847900161

Five other people remain in hospital, one in a critical condition, Leicestershire Police said.

Supt Shane O'Neill said police believe there may be more people unaccounted for & rescue efforts were continuing on Monday.

At this stage the explosion is not being linked to terrorism, he added.

The building consisted of a shop premises on the ground level & a two-storey flat above.

Witnesses said the shop was formerly a Londis but recently became a Polish supermarket called Zabka. It is believed to have only been trading since the new year.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the shop said none of the usual workers were injured in the explosion "resulting in collapse of the entire building on our shop below".

It added: "There was a boss on shift, who fortunately was slightly injured & is in the hospital."

Matt Cane, group manager at Leicestershire Fire & Rescue Service, said the bodies of the five people were found during the search of the building.

He added fire crews were still working to find survivors who may be trapped in "voids" inside the collapsed building.

"When you look at the pictures of the building it looks incredibly unlikely that we would find anybody but we are absolutely committed to search & rescue at this stage," he said.

"There are still pockets of fire in the basement area of the building."

Rescue work was temporarily suspended at about 14:00 on Monday over fears for the stability of a neighbouring building.

Gas network Cadent said it had assisted emergency services on Sunday night by "isolating the gas supply" to the building & adjoining properties on Hinckley Road.

Supt O'Neill, from Leicestershire Police, said he "can't say at this stage" what may have caused the explosion.

"It is a joint investigation between the fire service & the police & the priority is to make the area safe," he added.

He urged anyone who knows someone who is missing to contact police, adding: "It is still a search & rescue operation. It is important we try & find as many people as possible."

Update: Police Name Five Missing People

• Mary Rajoobeer, 46
• Shane Rajoobeer, 18
• Sean Rajoobeer, 17
• Leah Beth Reek, 18
• Viktorija Ljevleva, 22

Update: Three Men Arrested Over Fatal Leicester Explosion

The three men, all in their 30s, have been arrested late this afternoon & are being questioned by detectives.

One man comes from East Anglia, the second from the North West of the country, & the third from the East Midlands.

Source: https://leics.police.uk/news-appeals/news/2018/02/28/hinckley-road-explosion-three-arrested

Aram Kurd The Owner Of Exploded Leicester Shop Explains What Happened In A Video
Source: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/685008/Leicester-Explosion-Rajoobeer-Shane-Sean-Leah-Reek-Hinckley-Road-Names-Identities-Victims
At 0:51 in this upload here; it looks like you can see the owner on the right stood there as if he just arrived no?

Update: Aram Kurd, 33, Arkan Ali, 37 & Hawkar Hassan, 32 have been charged with manslaughter & arson with intent to endanger life over the explosion in Leicester. (03/03/2018)

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-43195160
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/feb/27/leicester-explosion-rescue-continue-search-trapped-survivors

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