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A massive explosion has broken out in a shop in Hinckley Road, Leicester, creating a large fire. British police and emergency crews rushed to the scene after the blast, which occurred around 7 PM local time.
What happened?
The explosion is believed to have happened through a convenience store, also impacting a flat located right above it. Debris from the building has also been blasted across local road carriageways, impacting traffic.
Police are treating the incident as a “major incident” and advised people to avoid the area, reportedly committing all emergency services to the area. According to News.Com.Au, the police issued the following statement:
“All emergency services are currently dealing with this. Please avoid the area.”
According to Leicester Mercury, an eye-witness gave the following account:
“At about 7pm, we heard an absolutely massive explosion. It was pretty frightening.”
“We went to look out of the upstairs windows and saw loads of smoke, and then a few seconds later massive orange flames.”
At this time, no injuries connected to the fire and explosion have been reported.
As this story is breaking, more information will be updated as made available.