Neighbors and children have paid heartfelt tributes to a four-year-old girl discovered dead in the ruins of a gas explosion in Croydon yesterday.
‘Spread your wings,’ one of many words scrawled on the pavement next to the police cordon, while flowers, teddies, and heart-shaped drawings have also been left at the intersection of Berkshire Way and Galpin’s Road in Thornton Heath.
The massive explosion occurred just after 7 a.m. on Monday, forcing a home to collapse and killing the little child while badly wounding three others.
The police cordon surrounding a massive mound of wreckage at the site remains in place, with a fire engine and numerous police vehicles stationed outside the demolished home.
‘I’m very sorry for your loss, I’m sure she would have been an awesome strong girl but now she is in a better place,’ one kid said in a poignant message.
Another note, written in blue felt tip with pictures of a rainbow and flowers, stated,’sorry about what occurred but I am delighted that yous are all alright and I hope yous have a wonderful time at the center.’
It said at the bottom, ‘your daughters are in a better place now.’
Messages written in chalk on the sidewalk near the home include ‘taken away too soon,’ ‘R.I.P Angel,’ and ‘much of love.’
In contrast to the massive crowd of neighbors who had been evacuated the day before, the road was silent on Tuesday morning.
Around 40 residences in the region were evacuated, and around 100 people were sheltered in neighboring hotels, while others who live inside the restricted area were not evacuated on Tuesday morning since they were a safe distance away.
Angry neighbors have sought answers after a horrific bomb that destroyed the family’s house, revealing that they had smelled gas for two weeks.
Nearby neighbours have been evacuated from their houses in the aftermath of the incident, and there is outrage over ‘unanswered questions,’ with some individuals reporting a strong smell of gas in the two weeks before.
Others reported feeling dizzy and unwell over the previous two days, with one reporting that they could still smell gas after the explosion, which smashed windows and seriously damaged neighboring houses.
Witnesses claimed they witnessed the child’s mother emerge from the wreckage with wounded hands, crying, ‘One of my children is still inside.’ How about my kid? They are unable to locate her.’
Southern Gas Networks has verified that emergency utility repair and maintenance work was being carried out on the road at the time of the event, despite locals reporting seeing no employees for many days prior to the explosion.
On Monday, more than 100 individuals were evacuated to the neighboring New Horizons Centre, where they were informed on the situation later that evening by Merton Council staff, the Metropolitan Police, and the London Fire Brigade.
As they were informed they would not be allowed to return home and that workmen had been unable to turn off the gas, some became furious and shouted their voices.
‘There is rage in the room,’ Reverend Deji Ayorinde of the adjoining Pollards Hill Baptist Church stated. Unanswered queries have sparked outrage in the community.’
He expressed disappointment that no officials from gas firms were there to address questions.
‘This was reported, and it wasn’t rectified for days or weeks,’ he claimed.
The 48-year-old, who lives on Galpin’s Road and wishes to remain anonymous, also called the gas company’s failure to show up to the community center to address neighbors’ issues ‘disrespectful.’
‘They haven’t been here,’ she said. Everyone is appalled. It’s painful, and it’s also insulting. They owe it to those who have helped the family.’
When queried about the accusations that people smelled gas before the event, London Fire Brigade deputy assistant commissioner Richard Welch responded, ‘Unfortunately, we can’t determine whether it was caused by gas.’ It is currently the subject of a police investigation.
‘We handled the emergency phase of the situation and will turn it over to local authorities and police.’
If proved to be a gas explosion, it would be the seventh in the past 15 months, with the previous bombs killing four people – a two-year-old kid, a 44-year-old woman, a 79-year-old man, and a 91-year-old pensioner.
While some have been regarded as “accidental gas explosions,” the explosion that killed two-year-old George Hinds in Heysham, Lancashire, in May last year resulted in two persons being accused and going on trial in October.
The explosion jolted houses in the Thornton Heath district of London just after 7 a.m., prompting 40 firemen and six fire engines to race to the site, assisted by police and paramedics.
Two adults and an 11-year-old kid were recovered from the wreckage, according to The Sun, before it was sadly discovered that a four-year-old girl had perished.
Southern Gas Networks, which was operating on the road at the time of the explosion, offered its condolences and said that it is working closely with the emergency services to determine the cause of the explosion.
Kutoya Kukanda, 50, and Delroy Simms, 62, who were dubbed “heroes” after rescuing three children from the wreckage at before 7 a.m., said they thought a small girl was still trapped within.
Mr Simms said that Mr Kukanda handed him children as bricks continued to fall from the building.
‘I heard boom, then I opened the door,’ said Mr Kukanda, who received a bruising on his shin from a falling block.
‘I saw flames, the home had fallen, and people inside were screaming.’
‘I walked inside and took the first kid – there were three of them.’
‘I grabbed one of the kids and handed it to him’ (Mr Simms).
‘The woman screamed, ‘One of my girls is still inside,’ she said.
Mr Simms went on to say that the home next door had also been destroyed, and that he spotted a guy he assumed to be the tenant standing on top of ‘about eight feet of debris, digging with his hands’ while he looked for his companion.
‘I went and purchased him a pair of shoes,’ Mr Simms said.
‘My wife is still in there,’ he replied. Everything was in disarray.
‘He was digging his way down when the fire department arrived and urged him to come down because it may explode again.’
‘They instructed us to return.’ ‘We want to know why the gas board isn’t here,’ said Mr Simms’ wife, Elene. It’s been almost two weeks.’
‘Every morning I wake up at 5 a.m. and I began my usual routine,’ Charlie Camdell, 36, who lives four doors down from the explosion, said.
‘I was in the front room when our window smashed on the inside.’
‘Because she had been smelling the gas for a few days, my partner remarked ‘there has been a gas explosion.’
‘I can’t smell anything anymore.’
‘I saw guys maintaining it, and they were digging into the road before it.’
‘You could definitely smell gas for the previous week or so.’
‘Someone yelled, ‘What about my child?’ and they simply sobbed, ‘They can’t locate her corpse.’
Mr Simms went on to say that the home next door had also been destroyed, and that he spotted a guy he assumed to be the tenant standing on top of ‘about eight feet of debris, digging with his hands’ while he looked for his companion.
‘I went and purchased him a pair of shoes,’ Mr Simms said.
‘
‘My wife is still in there,’ he replied. Everything was in disarray.
‘He was digging his way down when the fire department arrived and urged him to come down because it may explode again.’
‘They instructed us to return.’ ‘We want to know why the gas board isn’t here,’ said Mr Simms’ wife, Elene. It’s been almost two weeks.’
‘Every morning I wake up at 5 a.m. and I began my usual routine,’ Charlie Camdell, 36, who lives four doors down from the explosion, said.
‘I was in the front room when our window smashed on the inside.’
‘Because she had been smelling the gas for a few days, my partner remarked ‘there has been a gas explosion.’
‘I can’t smell anything anymore.’
‘I saw guys maintaining it, and they were digging into the road before it.’
‘You could definitely smell gas for the previous week or so.’
‘Someone yelled, ‘What about my child?’ and they simply sobbed, ‘They can’t locate her corpse.’