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Five people - including a "young lad" - have been killed after a convenience shop and flat collapsed following a massive explosion in Leicester.

A further five victims have been taken to hospital - one of whom is in a critical condition - after the blast in Hinckley Road last night, police say.

Officers believe there may also still be people unaccounted for, as emergency crews continue a "search and rescue" operation at the site.

A boy is said to be among those killed in the explosion, while locals have said a family of four lived in the two-bedroom flat above the shop.

Superintendent Shane O'Neill, of Leicestershire Police, said today there was no evidence that the explosion was linked to terrorism.

(Image: Jason Senior / SWNS.com) (Image: Matt Cane/BPM Media)

(Image: Tristan Potter / SWNS.com) (Image: PA)

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Supt O’Neill said: “We know the explosion and subsequent fire will have caused considerable concern to residents and business owners in the area and we would like to thank people for their support and patience while teams continue with their work at the scene.

“There are now five confirmed fatalities and a number of people still undergoing treatment in hospital. The building consisted of a shop premises on the ground level and a two-storey flat above it.

"We believe there may be people who have not yet been accounted for and rescue efforts continue in order to locate any further casualties.

“Although the cause of the explosion is not yet known, there is no evidence that this is linked to terrorism."

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Leicester Police had earlier said four people were killed in their blast. However, the force said this afternoon the death toll had sadly risen to five.

Five other victims were taken to hospital, it added.

This morning, dramatic CCTV footage emerged purportedly showing the moment the building exploded into flames.

In the new clip, an enormous blast can be seen sending rubble, smoke and fire shooting out into the road, as passing vehicles come to a halt.

The footage, circulated on social media, was apparently captured at the intersection of the road and Wyngate Drive last night.

Emergency services responded to reports of the blast - the cause of which is currently unclear - from concerned residents at about 7pm.

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Shocking photos showed flames erupting from the property - while firefighters worked through the night to dig through rubble and tackle the blaze.

Mayor of Leicester Sir Peter Soulsby said one of the five people killed in the blast was a "young lad", as he expressed his shock at the incident.

He said: “It is a shop I am quite familiar with, have popped in there a few times. What is terribly sad is that among the dead is a young lad.

“We will be looking to offer what support we can.

“I will be going to the scene at some point but at the moment I am monitoring the situation and letting the emergency services get on with their jobs.”

Meanwhile, Nicola Bishop, 32, who runs Sunshine Studios a few doors down from the blast site, said she understood a family-of-four lived above the store.

(Image: Tristan Potter / SWNS.com) (Image: Tristan Potter / SWNS.com)

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She said: "I left my studios an hour before the explosion. I was at home when I heard about it from some customers asking if I was all right.

"I don't really use the shop which was destroyed but I have chatted to the owner who said he had recently let out the flat above to a family of four.

"It looks like they could be the victims. It's really shocking."

She added: I'm so sorry for the family."

It comes as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said his "thoughts are with the families" of those killed in the explosion.

He tweeted this morning: "My thoughts are with the families of the four people who died and those injured in yesterday's explosion in Leicester.

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"Thank you to the emergency services who are still on the scene and hospital staff who are working to save lives."

The blast took place at the street's former Western Park Store, which changed to the Polish grocery shop, Zabka Leicester, on January 2.

The company director is Aram Kurd, 33, of Leicester.

Today, a message on Zabka Leicester's Facebook page said an employee had fortunately escaped with "slight" injuries following the explosion.

It said: "Hello. Due to the terrible events that took place yesterday, a moment after 7 PM, I would like to inform you that none of the polish girls who were in zabce (sic) were injured during the explosion and fire, resulting in collapse of the entire building on our shop below.

"In the evening, there was a boss on shift, who fortunately was slightly injured and is in the hospital. Dear customers, thank you for this time of cooperation and for the trust we have made of our newly opened store.

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(Image: PA)

"Thank you for being with us."

This afternoon, police said rescue work at the scene had been "temporarily suspended due to the structural integrity of a neighbouring building".

"The search and rescue work will resume shortly," they said.

They added: "Hinckley Road, from its junction with Bolton Road to its junction with Woodville Road, remains closed in both directions and motorists are advised to avoid the area and listen to local traffic reports for up-to-date information on road closures."

The fire service has said the building suffered a "pancake collapse" during the incident, which affected power supplies to a number of nearby homes.

Police have urged people not to comment on the cause of the blast, which is under investigation in a joint operation with firefighters.

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Meanwhile, hero neighbours have told how they rushed to the site to pull out bricks with their bare hands, fearing people were trapped under the rubble.

Some said their homes shook from the 'huge bang'.

Witnesses described how people had to be pulled to safety from neighbouring homes and businesses as 60 properties were evacuated as part of the emergency response, with surrounding roads shut.

Staff working at the takeaway next door told Mirror Online they were struck by rubble as rescuers fought thick black smoke when they arrived at the scene.

Savannah George, 17, was working at TJ’s Takeaway with her boss when the blast occurred, which led the ceiling to partially collapse.

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She told Mirror Online: “I just took a phone order and put it up with the others to be made and the next thing there was a massive explosion,” she said.

“I just saw a load of rubble coming down. The ceiling in the shop next to me collapsed. If I was 50cm to the left, the rubble would have fallen on me.

“The takeaway boxes flew off the wall from the force and the ceiling in our store partially collapsed.”

She said her boss, Mustafa, had pulled her over the top of a freezer to get her out of the store in the aftermath.

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"I just saw everything flying at me," Savannah, who ripped her clothing but was not seriously injured in the blast.

The first images from the scene showed firefighters or members of the public leaping over barriers to try to help those feared trapped or injured.

The shop, which was open at the time, was based behind a bus stop.

It was sandwiched between a fast food outlet, TJ's Takeaway, and a pub, Morgan's Bar, which residents feared may have been busy at the time.

Jonny Halliwell said he heard a 'huge bang' which shook the walls of his house.

He described how he rushed out to see people running down the street towards the store - which had only been open for around six weeks.

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"People grabbed blankets and ran towards the fire to try to help people. There was rubble and shop fittings everywhere," he said.

"I saw people pulling up chunks of rubble and searching for people underneath."

He added that the entire building was flattened.

"It was like someone took a delete tool on a computer and just erased the whole building," he said.

"The shop was open until 10pm so there would have been people in there at the time."

Jonny also said a pub next door, Morgan's Bar, would have been busy, and he noticed the windows had blown in and the front of the building was damaged.

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"There's a bus stop just outside the shop, it had blown the whole way across the road. I overheard people saying there were people waiting there at the time but I did not see anyone myself."

Tracey Bradshaw, 56, told MailOnline she saw five people desperately trying to shift rubble from the explosion site, while others were 'running and screaming' away from the scene

Tracey said: "When I arrived at the scene there were people trying to move bricks so I assume there must have been people inside.

"The street and road was absolutely covered with bricks and rubble. Cars might even have been hit from the explosion as well.'

"It shook the whole house."

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Anthony Clarke, 69, told The Sun Online he helped drag a stricken survivor from flaming rubble - after he narrowly missed the explosion minutes after leaving Morgan's Bar.

He said: "I was in there with my two sons. I had just got home and went upstairs to get changed and the explosion happened.

"I just rushed downstairs and down to the end of the road. There was debris everywhere. Me and another guy dragged this guy out of the rubble.

"He was lying with a bit of metal, a girder, across him. There was a police officer trying to lift it off him and we helped to lift it."

Another person said on Facebook: "I was in the pub next door, we dug the rubble out and pulled a man to safety but he said his brother was still in there, but the fire took over, I hope he’s ok."

(Image: REX/Shutterstock)

(Image: REX/Shutterstock)

(Image: REX/Shutterstock)

A nearby resident Graeme Hudson also filmed the shocking incident as the chaos unfolded in the street.

He told Mirror Online: "It very scary I live five minutes away from the explosion, but my house shook.

"I went out and saw massive smoke and big flames,so I quickly went out to see what's happened and I recorded the video."

He added: "I didn't stay for long there because it was unsafe for my 11-year-old son so I left."

A passer-by said: “The flames were absolutely huge. I’ll be amazed if someone hasn’t been killed or seriously injured.”

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Leicestershire Fire Service confirmed they were called to a building collapse.

Meanwhile, Leicestershire Police declared a "major incident" and advised people to avoid the area. A cordon was put in place, but no neighbouring properties were evacuated overnight.

Group Manager Matt Cane, of the fire service, said today: “Crews have worked through the night, alongside partner agencies, as they continue to search the scene in order to try and locate any further survivors or casualties.

“We have six fire crews on scene, including a specialist search and rescue team who are supported by two search dogs, and this level of resourcing is likely to be in place throughout the day.

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“The cause of the explosion and fire is still yet to be determined and we will work closely with colleagues from the police as our enquiries into the circumstances continue today.”

One resident told the Leicester Mercury yesterday: “I heard a huge bang and wondered what the hell it was.

“I came out of the house and we saw the flames, but we couldn’t be sure exactly which shop it was.

“This is a busy area and there are lots of people living in the area which has been cordoned off.

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“There are a lot of ambulances here, but I haven’t heard whether anyone has been injured.

“But I’m beginning to think someone must have been injured in this.”

Another said: “It’s absolute devastation. I’ve never seen anything like it in my entire life.

“There was a huge bang, then loads of smoke, and then in just a minute or two the whole site was engulfed in flames and you could hear sirens.

“The emergency services were at the scene extremely quickly. There’s debris everywhere.

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“I’m in shock. I just hope there was nobody in the building. It’s horrific.”

Tom Mellors, 33, who lives nearby, said: “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life, it’s obviously a major incident.

“I was at home and didn’t hear any explosion, which seems remarkable, but I began to hear a build-up of sirens and came out to find out what it was.

“At first I thought it must be a bad crash, but as I got closer and could see the flames beginning to come out of the building, it became obvious what it was.”

Mum-of-two Cat Pattinson told Sky News that her entire house shook after the explosion that left her fearing for her children.

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She said: "We live down the same street about 500 metres away from the blast has taken place and our whole house shook.

"There's an awful lot of smoke. The whole area is cordoned off. I was more worried about the fact we could feel it.

"You're concerned about the cause of it and the safety of your children in the house."

One Mirror reader, who lives on the street, said: "It's blown the shop across both sides of lanes and there is carnage everywhere. It rattled doors and windows here."

Mark Robins tweeted: "Jesus, huge explosion Hinckley road area about 10 minutes ago. Can see the flames and endless sirens going off. Any idea what’s happened?"

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Another witness posted: "The Polish shop next to the bus stop has blown up. Avoid the area. Roads closed and lots of sirens in attendance. Smoke everywhere."

Nearby resident Christine Stephens said on Facebook: "Omg our front and back doors shuddered and couldn't understand why, tjs on Hinckley road has exploded huge fire st the moment."

Leicestershire Police tweeted yesterday: "There has been a major incident on Hinckley Road, Leicester. All emergency services are currently dealing with this. Carlisle Street and part of Hinckley Road have been closed. Please avoid the area."

A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Fire and Rescue said six fire engines had been requested and that the incident was being treated as a search and rescue operation.

East Midlands Ambulance Service tweeted: "We're on scene at incident in Leic with our ambulance crews, HART and @EMICS999 (East Midlands Immediate Care Scheme) Drs."

Meanwhile, Leicester West MP LIz Kendall wrote: "Terrible news, am in touch with police as situation develops, thoughts and prayers with all those affected and with our amazing emergency services."

Flames raged for around an hour before they were extinguished.

In a statement today, police said: "Five people are now confirmed to have died following an explosion and fire at a building in Leicester last night.

"Five others were taken to hospital, one of whom remains in a critical condition.

"The rescue work at the scene of the former supermarket in Hinckley Road has been temporarily suspended due to the structural integrity of a neighbouring building, and the search and rescue work will resume shortly.

"Hinckley Road, from its junction with Bolton Road to its junction with Woodville Road, remains closed in both directions and motorists are advised to avoid the area and listen to local traffic reports for up-to-date information on road closures.

"Power supplies to a number of homes in the immediate area were affected by the incident and by lunchtime today will be restored to all but a handful of homes."

A fundraising page has also been set up for the victims and their families.

Model Robyn Elms, 21, set up the JustGiving page and was seen laying flowers at the scene this afternoon.

She said: "I heard about it yesterday night my boyfriend got a text from his friend and then told me.

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"We live across the road and I looked out the window and saw the smoke, I thought it was further down but it was really close to home.

"It's really scary to think that it was so close, I actually was going to get one of the flats that are above the shops over there.

"It's just really frightening, it could've been one of your family members or a passerby, or even someone getting a takeaway.

"I've started up a page for all those who have been affected, if anyone who's been hurt and might need rehabilitation or help with funeral costs this page is for them.

"Hopefully when the police do release the names of those who've been affected then I want the money to go to them.

"A lot of people feel hopeless in these situations and all they think they can do is just give their thoughts and prayers, but that's why I've set up this page so we can do more.

"One person who has donated already said thank you for setting this up so we can actually do something. It's just about bringing the community together at this time."

To donate click here.