This article is from the source 'rtcom' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.rt.com/uk/419797-fire-police-reports-explosion/

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Police & fire department respond to ‘major incident’ in Leicester, UK after reports of explosion ‘Major incident’: At least 4 injured after blast destroys store & home in Leicester, UK
(about 1 hour later)
British police said they were responding to a "major incident" after reports of a large blast in the central English city of Leicester. The fire department said six fire engines were sent to the scene. Four people have been hospitalized after a large blast destroyed a building in the UK city of Leicester. Police are advising people to avoid the scene of the “major incident.”
Leicester police are advising people to avoid the area of the “major incident” which is on Hinckley Road in the city. Emergency response teams rushed to the scene after the explosion at about 7pm local time.  "All emergency services are currently dealing with this," the police force said in a statement, "Please avoid the area."
"We got a call about an hour ago after reports of a large explosion and a building collapse," a firefighter in a control room in the city said. Emergency response teams rushed to the scene after the explosion at about 7pm local time. The fire department sent six fire engines to the scene of the large blast which destroyed a convenience store and a home. The ambulance service wrote on Twitter that four people have been taken to hospital in the aftermath of the blast.
"At about 7pm, we heard an absolutely massive explosion," a witness told local newspaper the Leicester Mercury. "It was quite frightening. We went to look out of the upstairs windows and saw loads of smoke, and then a few seconds later massive orange flames.” A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service has confirmed a search and rescue operation is underway.
Pictures and videos posted on Twitter showed flames leaping into the sky above the city. British media said a convenience store and a house had been destroyed in the blast. “This is a search and rescue at the moment," she said to the Leicester Mercury. “It is unknown if people are injured or trapped.”
Sixty homes have been evacuated as part of the emergency response and roads in the surrounding area have been closed.
"At about 7pm, we heard an absolutely massive explosion," a witness told the local newspaper. "It was quite frightening. We went to look out of the upstairs windows and saw loads of smoke, and then a few seconds later massive orange flames.”