A massive explosion has broken out in a shop, the Western Park Convenience Store, in Hinckley Road, Leicester, creating a large fire. British police and emergency crews rushed to the scene after the blast, which occurred around 7 PM local time.
What happened?
The explosion is believed to have happened through a convenience store, also impacting a flat located right above it. Within an hour, it was reported that the building appeared to be flattened by the blast.
Debris from the building has also been blasted across local road carriageways. 60 homes have been evacuated as part of the emergency response and surrounding roads have also been shut down.
Police are treating the incident as a “major incident” and advised people to avoid the area, reportedly committing all emergency services to the area. According to News.Com.Au, the police issued the following statement:
“All emergency services are currently dealing with this. Please avoid the area.”
A Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman also gave the following statement:
“This is a search and rescue at the moment. It is unknown if people are injured or trapped.”
Reportedly, the flames could be seen across the city.
At this time, no injuries connected to the fire and explosion have been reported.
UPDATE: According to Sky News, at least four people have been critically injured by the fire and have been taken to a local hospital, as confirmed by paramedics.
UPDATE: Four people have been confirmed dead from the explosion by BBC News.
UPDATE: The death count has been updated to five people, according to Time.
What witnesses are saying about the fire?
According to Leicester Mercury, an eye-witness gave the following account:
“At about 7pm, we heard an absolutely massive explosion. It was pretty frightening.”
“We went to look out of the upstairs windows and saw loads of smoke, and then a few seconds later massive orange flames.”
On social media, the Leicester police department issued the following message on social media:
“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.”
According to The Mirror, another witness gave the following statement:
“It’s blown the shop across both sides of lanes and there is carnage everywhere. It rattled doors and windows here.”
Another witness, identified as Jonny Halliwell, described how dangerous the situation could really be:
“People grabbed blankets and ran towards the fire to try to help people. There was rubble and shop fittings everywhere.
“I saw people pulling up chunks of rubble and searching for people underneath.”
“The shop was open until 10pm so there would have been people in there at the time.”
Leicester Explosion Photos & Videos
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https://www.facebook.com/BritishPatrioticAlliance/photos/basw.AbrM-VOJPCtGsFbtjEDdwg7C1Oo4nvTsxTmQjHE0pRWagS0Sm19fXTWPX5oUzs2PIzKPQFUVVqckCU3t8WeEAg1vQRk9f02RykyGxYgkoU_G7_se7G4Kx6ZFLDO8DTzFDHScXMt31mS93NWpNfCrfUKkKAJ1wMpez88ExokFTaRRQQ.10155655951027672.737431159783725.1689048954489056.1689048951155723.10214385734333640.1616462821770081.1687031231320388.10154954654670882.10215322504194219/1689048951155723/?type=1&theater
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F9sF4UvylY
Leicester Explosion Updates
https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/status/967855403865387009
https://twitter.com/leicspolice/status/967841486149771264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au%2Fworld%2Fleicester-explosion-british-police-say-all-emergency-services-dealing-with-major-incident%2Fnews-story%2F64e7a46891af3c05b9fcec4e7a9d688b
https://twitter.com/OnCroft/status/967854584428417025
https://twitter.com/AsaMcCoy/status/967855265348505600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au%2Fworld%2Fleicester-explosion-british-police-say-all-emergency-services-dealing-with-major-incident%2Fnews-story%2F64e7a46891af3c05b9fcec4e7a9d688b