TWO people have been killed and 16 others, including two children, were evacuated following a suspected gas explosion at a shop in west London, firefighters have said.
The blast happened at a phone shop and barbers on King Street, Southall, at around 6.20am on Wednesday(21).
According to reports, four adults and one child were pulled from the wreckage.
Eyewitness said that a huge cordon has been thrown up around King Street as fire investigators began their investigation into the explosion.
Station Commander Paul Morgan said: "In the initial stages firefighters rescued four adults and one child were rescued at the rear of the property using a ladder. A further fourteen adults and two children self evacuated from surrounding properties.”
Harmeet Singh, of the Southall Singh Sabha Gurdwara temple, who has been helping rescue survivors since 7am, said that the blast was felt over a mile away.
Jatinder Singh, 36, the owner of the mobile phone shop Dr Phone, that was destroyed in the blast, said he was "shocked" to arrive at the scene.
Around 40 firefighters Southall, Hayes, Heston, Ealing and Feltham fire stations rushed to the scene following the accident.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said they were not treating the explosion as suspicious.
Resident Nurmila Hamid who lives nearby said she felt the blast as she was getting her children ready for school.
Mohammad Rafiq, 78, who lives two streets away, said he and his 76-year-old wife felt "shocked" and "scared" when the noise from the King Street blast woke them at their home.
The explosion has also shut off a number of streets, with the police on the scene to prevent people approaching the scene.
According to a BBC report, Ealing Council had switched off the electricity and gas supply to some homes and businesses in the area and warned more properties might need to be evacuated.
Moglai Bap and Mo Chara of Kneecap perform at Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
Police may probe anti-Israel comments at Glastonbury
BRITISH police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows.
"We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday (28).
Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
"Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said.
The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival".
Prime minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury.
The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge.
A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
"I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News.
"I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
(Reuters)