Five dead, five in hospital after explosion in Leicester, England

Emergency personnel attend the scene of an incident in Leicester, central England yesterday. Five people have been killed. Photo / AP

Five people have died after an explosion that caused the collapse of a building in the central England city of Leicester, police said yesterday.

A search and rescue operation continued for other possible victims of the explosion, which injured five more people, officials said.

Residents living off Hinckley Rd have told how they rushed to help those caught up in the massive blast. There are fears that most of the casualties could come from the same family.

The building was reduced to rubble by the blast and fire.

Debris after what was described as a 'major incident' in Leicester. Photo / AP

Krishna Rungen said his brother-in-law and 15-year-old nephew were pulled out of the rubble and are in hospital. His sister and her two older sons were still missing along with the girlfriend of one of the sons.

Rungen, 69, who refused to name his family members, said: "As I understand the 15-year-old was pulled out by a passer-by and he's was alright, he's got a few cuts but he's okay.

"He is in a daze, he said his mum and his brothers were watching TV and then the next thing he knows bricks were falling over him, and then it was pitch black.

"He was crying for help and somebody just pulled him out of the rubble and wrapped him in a blanket and took him to the hospital."

Leicestershire Police Superintendent Shane O'Neill said the building where the explosion happened was a shop and a two-storey apartment above it.

The Londis shop and two-storey block of flats above it which was reduced to rubble by an explosion yesterday. Photo / Googlemaps

The building collapsed after the explosion and was engulfed in flames. Police declared a major incident and evacuated 60 nearby homes.

Surrounding roads were shut as part of the emergency response after the building suffered what firefighters described as a "pancake collapse".

Leicester City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: "The area is still closed off and will be for some considerable time. We have traffic diversions in place and these will remain for the foreseeable future.

"We are still waiting to hear what caused this terrible incident, but it looks likely it was a gas explosion.

"We remain in close contact with the police and fire service and await their update on this.

Emergency personnel continue to work at the scene of the explosion and fire in Leicester, which killed five people. Photo / AP

The cause has not yet been established. Police said they did not think terrorism was involved.

Matt Cane from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said there were still "pockets of fire" in the basement of the building.

"We have a significant number of specialist search and rescue teams who are supported by two search dogs," Cane said. "It may be some days yet before we will be able to establish the probable cause of the explosion."

Leicester is 180km north of London.

- AP