Leicester explosion: Six people injured after blast destroys shop

An explosion at a shop in Leicester has injured, six people, two of them critically. Leicestershire fire and rescue sent six fire engines to Hinckley Road after reports came in about the explosion at around 7pm on Sunday (25 February).

A police spokesman said: "At this stage there is no indication this is terrorist related."

One person who lived on the street told the Leicester Mercury that the explosion was "massive".

"We went to look out of the upstairs windows and saw loads of smoke, and then a few seconds later massive orange flames," the witness said.

The paper reported that the blast is believed to have ripped through a convenience store which has a flat above it in the building and is sandwiched between the shops TJ and Morgans Bar.

A Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said the property was a two-floor building with a loft conversion that had suffered a "pancake collapse".

Alpana Marwaha, told the broadcaster: "I heard a bang and the house shook. We could see the flames. You can still see the smoke coming, and the emergency services. There are few shops there and it is surrounded by houses," she added.

The Mercury said that there was a large crowd at the cordon at Westcotes Drive end of Hinckley Road.

Kat Pattison, who lives nearby, told the Guardian: "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."