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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Matt Spivey & Bradley Jolly

Thornton Health explosion: 500 residents banned from going home days after deadly blast

Hundreds of residents have still been unable to return home after a gas explosion ripped a house apart and killed a four-year-old girl.

The blast destroyed the terraced house in Thornton Heath, south London, on Monday and killed tragic four-year-old Sahara Salman.

Three other people were seriously injured in the disaster, including an 11-year-old boy and a 54-year-old woman.

The Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Command has launched an investigation.

Those living in neighbouring properties are still waiting to be allowed back into their properties, reports My London.

Merton Council says around "500 residents" are currently living in hotels and, though it was planned they'd be able to return home on Friday, the proposals have been delayed.

A child died in the gas explosion (SWNS)

One mum-of-six said she's had no access to cooking facilities and no way of washing her "traumatised" children's clothes for days.

Speaking from the local evacuation centre, she added she was "left in limbo" with conflicting information and wanted to return home.

In text messages sent to residents on Friday, August 12, Merton Council wrote: "Galpin’s Road is now gas-safe and SGN are able to start gas safety checks on your property on Saturday."

Sahara Salman lost her life just one month before her fifth birthday (PA)

The residents, who live in properties where the cordon has been removed, have been asked to hand their keys in to New Horizons Centre so that gas engineers and police officers can enter their properties to check the gas is working properly before they can be allowed to return to their homes.

The house inspections will check there are no interruptions in the gas supply when it is turned back on and the council expects these properties to be occupied again over the weekend or by early next week.

Gas engineers have been at the scene this week (PA)

A spokesperson from SGN, the gas company that supplies Galpin's Road, told My London: "Engineers at SGN are continuing the work which is required so that the majority of residents in Galpin’s Road who have been evacuated can return to their homes.

"We will work alongside Merton Council to complete the re-occupation once the engineering operation is complete. More information on timescales will be shared once it’s available.

"We also need to visit each property individually to restore the gas supply and perform safety checks.

Police erect a cordon near the scene in the capital (PA)

"This is a standard procedure when gas has been off. A small number of residents, whose homes are around the incident site, will be unable to return to their homes until police and structural engineers advise on the structural safety of the properties.

"All of us at SGN are shocked and saddened about the death of Sahara. We send our sincere condolences to her family."

Speaking yesterday, a spokesperson from Merton Council told My London: "Approximately 200 residents will be hopefully able to go home this weekend."

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