Six months after Sahara’s death in gas explosion, local council yet to find house for her family

It has been six months since a four-year-old girl Sahara Salman was killed in a gas explosion in South London. But her family, rendered homeless in the tragedy, are still “sleeping on the floor” in their relatives’ house as Merton Council is yet to find a “suitable property” for them.

Sana Ahmad and her four children including Sahara were sleeping when the house in Galpin’s Road collapsed after the explosion on August 8 last year. While Sahara died, three others were injured in the incident.

Hundreds of residents of the area were evacuated following the disaster and Ahmad and other surviving members of her family moved to their relatives’ house a few doors away from their former residence.

Ahmad said in a statement that it was “a nightmare come true to know that my daughter lost her life in the very bed where she should have felt safe and secure.”

“My last memory of her is kissing her good night, telling her how much I loved her and promising to see her in the morning,” she said, describing how Sahara’s absence was felt deeply now.

“Despite this tragedy, we are still homeless and sleeping on the floor,” the single mother said.

“My three children and I have lost everything, and it’s devastating to see them without their belongings and a place to call home,” she said in the statement reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“We deserve support in this difficult time, but it feels like we’ve been left to fend for ourselves,” Ahmad said.

While Merton Council said it continued its efforts to find a suitable home for the family, Ahmad said the wait for a home felt “like torture”.

She said it was “unfair” that they were “being treated this way and left without proper support”.

It was difficult to understand why the council was struggling to find a home for the family “after such a long time”, she said.

Council leader Ross Garrod said, “it will be a while before we have the answers that we need.”

“The council has been doing everything it can to support those affected, including Ms Ahmad and her family,” Garrod said, adding “we are continuing our efforts to find a suitable property for the family.”