Tuesday 9 August 2022 06:04 PM Girl, 4, killed in gas explosion is named, as friends claim family 'reported ... trends now

A 'beautiful' four-year-old girl who died after a gas explosion tore through her house sending debris flying through the air has today been named locally.

Sahara Salman was tragically found dead in the rubble of a destroyed house after the devastating blast yesterday on the suburban street in Galpin's Road, Thornton Heath, south London.

Both parents of the little girl, Sana and Syed Muhammad Salman Ilyas, as well as two of her siblings were not seriously injured in the explosion. 

It is thought the family were in the house next door when the explosion went off and an aunt was said to have been in the loft at the time. 

A family friend today said the tot was a 'happy' and 'cute' girl and that the family had been in touch with the gas company for a week before the blast. Neighbours had also called the gas company over fears there could be a leak.

Family friend Thoheed Maricar, 52, said the tragic young girl was one of four children - including an 11-year-old boy who was taken to hospital and another two children who were relatively unharmed the blast.

Her mother, said to be called Sana Ahmad, is thought to work for the NHS as a receptionist.

Mr Maricar said: 'Yesterday the mum was crying and she was in a horrible situation as she had just lost a baby.

'I was called up at around 9am yesterday and was told 'uncle, there has been a big blast at a neighbour's house'.

'The mum was saying 'my third child is missing' but she couldn't really talk to me. She was crying and screaming.

'The girl is a beautiful, cute four-year-old. She was a happy girl. She played around a lot and was very active.

'I think she had started nursery but I don't know that for sure.'

Mr Maricar added: 'The 11-year-old boy is injured but I don't know his condition or if he is still in hospital.

'I feel very, very sad about what has happened. It is just a terrible situation.

'The family had tried to get hold of the gas company a couple of times last week and neighbours had been trying to get hold of the gas company.

'The mum is working in the NHS as a receptionist in a GP.'

Bunches of flowers and around 10 teddy bears were laid at the scene and tributes were scrawled in chalk across a nearby pavement in dedication to the little girl.

Earlier today a police cordon was extended at the scene over fears of another leak in the street, emergency crews said today.

The safety area around the house that was completely destroyed in the huge blast has been moved out several times to a distance of about 650ft as evacuations from nearby homes continued today.

The Met told residents of Galpin's Road in Thornton Heath, south London, that they are extending the cordon for 'safety' reasons after reports of a second gas leak but refused to give further details.

Today a local Labour MP said gas supplier is facing 'serious questions' over the incident at just after 7am on Monday, and why the street was not evacuated before the 'terrible tragedy'.

Residents have said they could smell gas for 'at least two weeks' prior, with many experiencing headaches, dizziness and difficulty breathing in that time. They said neighbours had called gas engineers several days before,  one told how the 'potent' stench felt like it was a 'timebomb' waiting to go off.

Employees of Southern Gas Networks, who had been carrying out works in the road at the time of the incident, have been pictured at the scene today.

Neighbours claim the family of a four-year-old girl who died in an explosion had called the gas company about a suspected leak but were 'given an appointment.'

The London Fire Brigade confirmed this afternoon that the cordon has been extended further due to 'elevated gas readings.'

A spokesperson for the service said the move had been requested by the government Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

A Galpin's Road resident of 58 years, Bernadette, 87, said she last saw the young girl playing in her garden the day before the blast, and knows her grandmother. Speaking alongside her grandson, Callum, 20, Bernadette told the PA news agency: 'I saw her playing in the garden the day before - she was playing with a ball with her little sister.

'They're a lovely family, they are always wanting to do something for you, always offering to help.

'Yesterday when firefighters were still searching the debris, the children's aunt and grandma brought food out to everybody, even in the middle of their distress.'

Children who live nearby have written touching tributes and toys have been left by the original cordon in memory of the young girl who was found dead in the rubble of the explosion.

Local MP Siobhan McDonagh said she has written to gas company SGN 'demanding answers' over the explosion in south London which killed a child on Monday.

The Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden said: 'Clearly there are lots of questions that need answering: how was this allowed to happen, why weren't people made aware, and why weren't they evacuated before the terrible tragedy happened?

'I want to express my condolences for the families on Galpin's Street - this should never have happened and we will get to the bottom of it.

'I'm sorry for the disruption to those who have been displaced.'

There is anger from resident at 'unanswered questions', with some people saying they had reported a strong smell of gas in the two weeks beforehand. 

According to residents on the street, engineers had been digging holes along the road in recent days.

Dee Akomanyi, 45, who has lived on the street for around 30 years, said she could smell gas in her house the night before the explosion and said that nothing was done despite reports.

Standing with her 25-year-old daughter Zhane Akomanyi, she said: 'Last night, I couldn't sleep, I kept having these flashbacks, it's traumatising.

'It's devastating, I could hear the screams from the parents when it all happened.'

The mother-of-one said she left her house less than 10 minutes before the blast and could smell what she believed to be gas.

She added: 'Yesterday I left the house at around 6.55am and I smelt gas - it was really strong.

'10 minutes after we left there was an explosion.

'I could smell this sweet, sulphury stench all through the night, I couldn't sleep because of it.

'People were reporting it, but nothing was done, it's scary.'

Neighbour, Adele, who didn't want to give her last name, explained she could smell 'really strong gas' over the weekend.

The mother-of-two, who lives just a few doors down from the collapsed house, said: 'The whole house shook, it was a novelty for my kids at the time, but now it's more of a shock impact for them as reality hit this morning.

'Other families got off worse than me. We were the lucky ones.

'We could smell gas really strong on Sunday.

'I was getting headaches, lots of neighbours said they were dizzy because of it.'

One person said they could still smell gas after the blast, which shattered windows and severely damaged neighbouring properties. 

It has been confirmed that emergency utility repair and maintenance works were being carried out on the road by Southern Gas Networks at the time of the incident, although residents report not seeing any workers for several days before the blast. 

More than 100 people were evacuated to the nearby New Horizon's Centre on Monday, where they were briefed on the situation by Merton Council officers, the Metropolitan Police and London Fire Brigade later in the evening.

Some grew agitated and raised their voices as they were told they would not be able to return to their homes and that workers had been unable to turn off the gas.

Reverend Deji Ayorinde, of the nearby Pollards Hill Baptist Church, said: 'There is anger in the room. There is anger in the community surrounding unanswered questions.'

He said there was anger that no representatives of gas companies were at the briefing to answer questions.

A 48-year-old, who lives on Galpin's Road and wished to remain anonymous, also said the gas company not turning up to the community centre to answer questions from residents was 'disrespectful'.

She said: 'They have not been here. Everyone is disgusted. It is heartbreaking, it is disrespectful. They owe it to the people who have supported the family.'

When asked about the claims residents could smell gas before the incident London Fire Brigade's deputy assistant commissioner Richard Welch said yesterday: 'Unfortunately we can't say if it's gas that's caused it. It will become a police investigation now.

'We dealt with the emergency phase of the incident and we will be handing it over to local authorities and local police.'

If confirmed to be a gas explosion, it would be the seventh in the last 15 months, with the previous blasts tragically killing four people - including a two-year-old boy, a 44-year-old women, a 79-year-old man and a 91-year-old pensioner. 

While some have been described as 'accidental gas explosions', the explosion which killed two-year-old George Hinds in Heysham, Lancashire, in May last year, has seen two people charged over the incident and they will go on trial in October.

This morning's explosion shook homes in the Thornton Heath area of London just after 7am, with the fire and subsequent rescue operation seeing 40 firefighters and six fire engines rushed to the scene supported by police and paramedics.

The Sun reported that two adults and an 11-year-old boy were rescued from the rubble, before it was tragically confirmed that a four-year-old girl had died.

Southern Gas Networks, which had been carrying out works in the road at the time of the incident, expressed its sympathies and said it is working closely with the emergency services to establish the cause of the explosion.

Two neighbours, Kutoya Kukanda, 50, and Delroy Simms, 62, who have been called have been called 'heroes' for rescuing three children from the rubble at around 7am, said they feared a young girl was still trapped inside.

Mr Simms said that Mr Kukanda passed children out to him as bricks were still falling from the structure.

Mr Kukanda, who had a bruise on his shin from a falling brick, said: 'I heard boom, then I opened the door.

'I saw smoke, the house had collapsed, and people were screaming inside.

'I went inside and took the first baby - there were three children.

'I took one of the children, gave it to him (Mr Simms).