Updated, 5:30 pm Eastern. 

A MASSIVE EXPLOSION IN THE LONDON (ENGLAND)SUBURB OF SOUTH HARROW destroyed three homes Wednesday night.  One man has died and at least two others were seriously injured, one a 26-yr.-old man with a severe head injury and the other a 17-yr.-old girl with burns.

Press Association photo

The blast has all the early indications of being a natural gas explosion, but the police have a suspicion that it could have been deliberately triggered and have opened a murder investigation.

Emergency workers are still searching this morning for any other victims in the rubble.  Structural instabilities are slowing the search and rescue efforts.

John Gaffney, station manager for London Fire Brigade, said: “At this point we are assessing if anyone else was involved and we are still searching with specialist listening equipment.” The process would continue for a number of hours, he said, but if no sounds were heard the building would be made safe and police sniffer dogs brought in. 

BBC image

A spokeswoman for the gas company said the pipes leading to the house had been checked and the supply isolated.  “We found no trace of a gas leak in our system but we will continue to have a very small presence on site,” she said.

Update:  With the possibility of a gas leak all but eliminated, the police murder squad detectives are considering that the explosion was deliberately triggered.  A Scotland Yard spokesman was quoted by the Times as saying that they “have evidence” that the blast was sparked intentionally.

The victim’s body is still buried in the rubble while structural engineers are working at making the building safe for entry.  Forensic experts are having to wait until Friday before they can begin their investigation.

About 30 40 residents in the row have been temporarily displaced and will be housed in hotels for a few more days yet.

BBC News has an early REPORT.
The London Times has MORE.

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