HORROR BLAST
Shocking moment Leicester home is destroyed in explosion – as young boy is feared among dead
CCTV shows a smaller explosion seconds before a huge blast destroyed the Zakba Polish shop and an upstairs flat in an instant
CCTV shows the shocking moment a Leicester shop and first-floor flat were obliterated in a huge explosion.
A young boy is feared to be among five people killed after the left the Zakba Polish shop on Hinckley Road and an upstairs home were destroyed within seconds.
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CCTV from nearby Wyngate Drive shows the moment the blast broke out at about 7pm.
A smaller explosion appears to blow out the ground floor windows before the entire building disappears into a ball of flames seconds later.
Witnesses living nearby said the explosion felt like a bomb blast and shook properties up to half a mile away.
Heroic passers-by clawed through flaming debris with their bare hands within seconds of the explosion - which injured a further 10 people.
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Police confirmed the tragic deaths early this morning adding that they believed some still remain unaccounted for.
Dramatic pictures show flames leaping from the store as bystanders race towards the danger - with one leaping over a mangled road barrier in his desperation to help.
What we know so far:
- A huge , just after 7pm on Sunday night
- Dramatic pictures show the blast completely destroyed at least one building
- The two-floor building with a loft conversion suffered a "pancake collapse", emergency workers said
- Five people have died and another four are in hospital
- Residents told how their houses were shaken by the blast and described a noise “like a bomb”
- Emergency workers said they are searching through the rubble to find survivors that could be trapped or buried
- No known cause of the blast revealed
The explosion, the cause of which is not yet known but has not been linked to terrorism, ripped through the convenience store shortly after 7pm on Sunday night.
Harrowing footage shows emergency crews apparently administering first aid to a victim on the ground as the blaze took hold behind them.
Footage shows the immediate aftermath of the Leicester explosion that killed four, as locals search the rubble for survivors
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Superintendent Shane O’Neill said: “There are a large number of resources from various agencies at the scene in Hinckley Road and they are expected to be in place throughout the day.
“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 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 are not being linked to terrorism.”
Emergency services remain at the scene this morning and are searching the collapsed property.
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A Leicester Hospitals spokesman said last night: "Six people were taken by East Midlands Ambulance Service to Leicester Royal Infirmary from the scene.
"Two of these patients are in a critical condition, while four are walking wounded."
The blast is thought to have obliterated both the shop, the flat above, and the the bus stop in front.
Anthony Clarke, 69, told The Sun Online how he helped drag a stricken survivor from a pile of flaming rubble - after narrowly missing the blast himself.
He said: "I’d just been for a drink in Morgan’s next door and had just left about ten minutes before the explosion.
Leicestershire Police and emergency services respond to a suspected explosion on Hinckley Road
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"I was in there with my two sons. I had just got home and went upstairs to get changed and the explosion happened.
"I just rushed downstairs and down to the end of the road. There was debris everywhere. Me and another guy dragged this guy out of the rubble.
"He was lying with a bit of metal, a girder, across him. There was a police officer trying to lift it off him and we helped to lift it."