Three people were reported missing after the early morning blast - Bianka O'Brien, 31, her 12-month-old son, Jude, and neighbour Chris Noble, 30. Search: Rescue crews work with sniffer dogs. Credit:Peter Rae Police on Friday morning said the male body found in the rubble had still not been formally identified, but that they were now only looking for two missing people. Ms O'Brien's husband, John, had already left for work at a Sydney hospital early on Thursday morning and his wife and child were sleeping in their apartment. After hearing the blast had torn through his street, Mr O'Brien arrived at the scene on Thursday morning and was being comforted by friends.

Hours after the body was discovered, it remained in place because of fears the site was unstable and the walls of adjoining buildings on either side of the demolished shop could collapse, Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Ian Krimmer said.

A visibly upset couple arrive at the site of a building fire in Darling street Rozelle this morning. Credit:Peter Rae "It doesn't mean that the walls are going to collapse," he told reporters gathered at the site on Thursday night. "We simply don't know. Bianka O'Brien with her son, Jude. Credit:Facebook

"If we go in there too quickly ... it could cause the walls to collapse on either side." The body was retrieved just before 11pm. An explosion and fire destroy Rozelle shop and units. Credit:Steven Davidson, smh.com.au reader Superintendent Krimmer said they could not confirm the identity of the victim and had to speak to the families of the three people missing before they informed the public. Firefighters searching the rubble brick by brick had not heard any sounds coming from the remains of the building, he said.

Unaccounted for: Chris Noble. Credit:Channel Nine But searchers would hang on to hopes of finding alive the two people still unaccounted for. "Until we can locate the other two people, we still hold hopes. "When we say brick by brick, we mean that literally," he said. Police say they are treating the explosion as suspicious until they know otherwise.

It is believed Ms O'Brien is the sister of James Keremelevski, who owns a mobile phone store next to the convenience store that was obliterated by the explosion. Mr Noble works for an airconditioning company and lived in an apartment above the convenience store. His colleagues were in contact with his family. Fairfax Media has been told a meeting of all staff at the company will be convened on Friday morning. "It's still a bit early and a bit raw," one colleague said. "Everyone's still holding out hope." Before the body was found, emergency services described the mission as one of "search and rescue" and said the effort was "painstaking".

Three men were taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital with various injuries after the blast, including the owner of the convenience store, Adeel Khan, who was found with serious head and leg injuries, covered in rubble and trapped under a commercial fridge. Two men are believed to have jumped from the first floor to the ground to escape the blaze and suffered minor injuries. Police spent much of Thursday searching side streets and back lanes for any evidence that might help them to find out who and what sparked the explosion. Superintendent Paul Johnstone, from Fire and Rescue NSW, said small cameras were being used to to inspect areas that firefighters could not immediately get to. Investigators have not commented on witness reports that a car was seen by garbage collectors speeding away from the convenience store moments before the explosion.

Inspector Gary Coffey, of Leichhardt police, said fire investigators were yet to search the convenience store thoroughly to determine the cause of the fire. He would not comment on the report of the speeding car. "We're still in the process of trying to gather witnesses and information about exactly what occurred in the moments before the fire started," he said. Police said Darling Street remained closed on Friday morning and motorists were asked to stay away from the area.

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