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Man killed in explosion at site of former petrol station | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
A man in his 50s died in an explosion at a construction site in north London, police have said. | |
Emergency services and the London Air Ambulance were called to an "industrial incident" on Swain's Lane, Highgate, just after 14.00 GMT. | |
The site was once a petrol station and part of the demolition work required removing underground tanks. | |
The explosion "sounded like a bomb", locals said. The area is cordoned off and police remain on scene. | |
The 1930s-terrace, on the site of a former shopping parade, is due to be replaced by eight new shops and 12 houses. | |
Owners Noble House were aware of safety concerns but had claimed to residents there were "no indications of hazardous materials". | |
A report had also "indicated ways to deal safely with the underground tanks" developers said. | |
Highgate councillor and Green London Assembly Member Sian Berry told the BBC that builders had been due to remove petrol tanks from the site this week. | |
She said: "It's absolutely shocking. I was there last Friday and saw a big tank that used to store petrol. The first stage of construction was taking these tanks away." | |
Local resident Kim Gray said the explosion "sounded like car bomb" and shook local buildings. | |
Ozan Yelken, 27, a supervisor at neighbouring Bistro Laz restaurant said: "I heard a very big bang, like a wall collapsing. | |
"I ran outside and it was very quiet for a few seconds then people started running into the construction site." | |
Mr Yelken said he saw workers removing a petrol tank earlier today. | |
The Health and Safety Executive said it was "aware of an incident that took place today at Swains Lane, Camden and is in communication with the emergency services". |