Two people were killed in a suspected gas explosion on Wednesday at a shop in King Street, Southall.

The blast happened in a hair salon (Chandla Hair Salon) and mobile phone shop (Dr. Phone) on 32 King Street, Southall, just after 06:30 am. facilities.

The Brigade was called at 0638 (on Wednesday, 21 October 2020). Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters Southall, Hayes, Heston, Ealing and Feltham fire stations were at the scene at the height of the incident.

In the initial stages, 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.

London Fire Brigade Station Commander Paul Morgan said: "We can confirm that sadly two people have died at the scene."

"The explosion caused substantial damage to the shop and structural damage throughout."

"It has been a painstaking and protracted incident with firefighters working systematically to stabilise the building and search for people involved."

The Police said "An early assessment suspected the cause to be a gas explosion. The exact cause at this time is not yet known."

Road closures were in place and some nearby residents were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Other residents living inside the cordoned off area were escorted to their properties for safety reasons.