Newark house blast: Second body found
A second body has been found in the rubble of a terraced house which was destroyed by a suspected gas blast in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
Police said continuing searches in the rubble had “revealed” the body of a woman, which would be recovered later.
A man’s body was removed from the house in Wright Street in the early hours. Four people, including two children, were treated in hospital.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue service said a woman, a seven-year-old and a four-month-old baby were from the neighbouring property. They have since been discharged.
Police also confirmed today that a “controlled demolition” was set to be carried out as the property was not considered safe.
Shell UK admits health and safety breaches after Norfolk gas explosion
Shell UK has pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches which lead to an explosion in 2008 at the Bacton Gas Terminal in Norfolk. The Environment Agency and the Health and Safety Executive brought the joint prosecution.
The company admitted to breaching 2 Health and Safety Regulations and 5 areas of environmental legislation. No one was injured in the accident.
The company will be sentenced on 16th June at Norfolk Crown Court.
Firefighters called to gas explosion in north London
A flat in Newington Green was the scene of a suspected gas explosion last week, leading to home evacuations and roads in the area to be cordoned off.
The blast is said to have destroyed the ground-floor flat in the residential area of Aden Green around 6pm on Monday evening and firefighters from the London Fire Brigade were called out immediately.
The five-storey block of flats had to be evacuated, with more than 40 people affected. An emergency shelter was set up at Stoke Newington Town Hall for those who could not return to their homes straight away.
At the time, fire crews admitted that not everybody had been accounted for, but the Metropolitan Police had not been made aware of anyone being injured in the explosion.
The police later confirmed that there had been a gas explosion at the flat, with all its windows blown out, but this had not resulted in a fire.
Some witnesses reported smelling gas and hearing a hissing sound just before the powerful blast occurred.
After the explosion, people were spotted running into the street to see what had caused such a large bang, which shook a number of properties in the vicinity.
Gas explosion kills pensioner
Mr George Titterton died after a gas explosion at his house in Sheen in February this year. His body was found under rubble and debris by a police dog on the third day of the search.
An investigation into the cause of the fire has concluded that the most likely cause was the leaking of propane from two gas cylinders in the kitchen. Fire investigation officer Mark McCabe said ‘The gas migrated from the kitchen and mixed with the open fire’. It is likely that Mr Titterton was trying to change the cylinder when the explosion occurred.
PC Andrew Platt who was at the scene of the fire said “The front of the building had blown out on to the road. The whole of the inside of the building had collapsed.” The fire investigation took five days to carry out due to safety concerns. Most of the building had collapsed making it difficult to access.
Friends described Mr Titterton as an independent man who would always try jobs himself before asking people for help.