Woman’s body found under Sydney home collapsed by blast

The blast on Waikanda Crescent at Whalan in Sydney’s west levelled most of the two-storey home. Photo / Fire and Rescue NSW

Rescue teams have found the body of a woman after an explosion collapsed a western Sydney unit complex.

A woman in her 30s was missing and feared buried alive after an explosion on Waikanda Crescent at Whalan levelled most of the two-storey property just before 1pm on Saturday.

Authorities said the body of a woman, yet to be formally identified, was found about 3.20am on Monday.

Emergency crews had been working around the clock, combing the ruins amid increasing concerns gas had been leaking from the complex. Speculation had been mounting since neighbours reported a smell over past weeks.

“There was always a gas smell ... like a leak,” Andrew, whose grandfather lives in the complex, told 9 News.

Another neighbour said she felt unsafe and worried her home might also be affected.

“I don’t want to sleep here at all,” she told ABC News.

“My whole house is run on gas, I can’t even have a hot shower because they have turned it off [and] I can’t use my stove.”

“We could smell gas for the last two weeks,” another woman said.

The blast levelled most of the two-storey home in Sydney. Photo / Fire and Rescue NSW

While the cause of the explosion remains unknown, NSW Deputy Premier Prue Car said she was “deeply concerned” and that the reports of a gas smell were being urgently investigated.

NSW Fire and Rescue Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell also confirmed there had been a leak at the site after the explosion which hampered rescue efforts.

Dozens of search and rescue technicians, including firefighters who responded to last year’s earthquake disaster in Turkey, had been working at the scene.

Firefighters were using acoustic monitoring devices to capture sounds under the ruins while search cameras were used to peer under rubble and concrete slabs to look for possible survivors.