Death toll from Leicester explosion rises to five

Five people have died after an explosion and subsequent fire destroyed a shop in Leicester on Sunday, police say.

On Monday morning, Leicestershire police said four people had died overnight. Officers confirmed later that another person had subsequently died. They said five more people were in hospital, with one in a critical condition.

Police believe there may yet be more people unaccounted for following the incident in the west of the city.

On Monday morning, a Leicestershire fire and rescue service spokesman said emergency services were searching for gaps within the collapsed building in which people could have survived.

Matt Cane told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme firefighters would use search and rescue dogs to look for any survivors throughout Monday.

Supt Shane O’Neill, of Leicestershire police, said: “There are four confirmed fatalities at this stage and a number of people still undergoing treatment in hospital. The building consisted of a shop premises on the ground level and a two-storey flat above it. 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.”

Fire crews, paramedics and police responded to reports of an explosion at the building on Hinckley Road at about 7pm. Video taken at the scene showed flames billowing into the night sky as the fire engulfed the shop.

One clip appeared to show emergency services rushing to help someone close to the flames.

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Kat Pattison, who lives nearby, said: “There was a huge bang and the whole house shook. If there had been no bang, I would have thought it was an earthquake. I couldn’t believe it.

“It looks like the fire is burning under control but there’s still a lot of smoke. The shop would have still been open so it’s awful. I will be really surprised if anyone has come out of it alive and people could have also been hurt at the bus stop. We checked on our children first and foremost and then we went outside.”

She added that the shop on fire was usually open until about 9pm on a Sunday.

Leicestershire fire and rescue service said at about 7.03pm it received calls from members of the public who said they had heard a blast on Hinckley Road. A spokeswoman said six fire engines had been requested and that the incident was being treated as a search and rescue operation.

She added that the affected property was a two-storey building with a loft conversion that had suffered a “pancake collapse”.

Leicestershire police tweeted: “There has been a major incident on Hinckley Road, Leicester. All emergency services are currently dealing with this. Carlisle Street and part of Hinckley Road have been closed. Please avoid the area.”

Tahir Khan, a witness, said: “I was driving past when it happened. Loads of people were gathered and there was gas and flames coming out of the building. I looked on the road and half the building was on the road. Literally the whole of the side of the building had been blown out. I couldn’t believe it, it was like a Hollywood movie.”

John Alexander, a BBC journalist, said: “I live about 80 yards away from where it happened. I felt a tremor, what felt like an earthquake shock, and I heard a very low boom that sounded like a very, very fast release of pressure.

“I thought my house was going to fall down on top of me and all my neighbours have said the same thing. I saw one guy get pulled out and he’ll be very lucky if he wasn’t killed.”

The Leicester West Labour MP, Liz Kendall, tweeted:

Earlier, the force tweeted:

Witnesses shared what they could see on social media. Mark Robins wrote on Twitter: “Jesus, huge explosion Hinckley road area about 10 minutes ago. Can see the flames and endless sirens going off.”

Helen Knott said: “Explosion on Hinckley Rd in Leicester. The old Londis and the flat above have been destroyed by fire. Road closed. Hoping no-one was injured.”

Nearby resident Christine Stephens said on Facebook: “Omg our front and back doors shuddered and couldn’t understand why, TJ’s on Hinckley road has exploded huge fire at the moment.”

O’Neill added that Hinckley Road was closed to motorists and emergency vehicles were likely to be at the scene throughout Monday. He said: “We know the explosion and subsequent fire will have caused considerable concern to residents and business owners in the area and we would like to thank people for their support and patience while teams continue with their work at the scene.”

The electricity supply to some surrounding homes was cut. Cane said: “Crews have worked through the night, alongside partner agencies, as they continue to search the scene in order to try and locate any further survivors or casualties.

“We have six fire crews on scene, including a specialist search and rescue team who are supported by two search dogs, and this level of resourcing is likely to be in place throughout the day.

“The cause of the explosion and fire is still yet to be determined and we will work closely with colleagues from the police as our inquiries into the circumstances continue today.”