Thornton Heath: Fatal gas explosion residents to return home

Hundreds of residents evacuated after a fatal gas explosion in south London have been allowed to return home.

Sahara Salman, a four-year-old girl, died when one of the houses on Galpin's Road, Thornton Heath, collapsed.

About 500 people had to leave their homes while the leak was fixed after last Monday's blast.

Some residents were due to return on the weekend but Southern Gas Networks (SGN) said it was not yet safe. It declared the area safe on Tuesday.

Wednesday will see the first displaced residents return.

An SGN spokesman said: "Our engineering teams have now completed work in Galpin's Road, Thornton Heath, to disconnect a section of our gas network in support of the ongoing police investigation.

"Residents will start to return home tomorrow in an operation managed by Merton Council, however this will take time due to the need to complete safety checks on all properties."

Merton Council said almost all residents, most of whom have been staying in hotels for more than a week, would be returning from Wednesday, with the exception of those from a handful of houses closest to the blast.

One house was completely destroyed by the explosion, while two neighbouring terraced homes suffered extensive damage and several more had smashed windows.

Three people were seriously injured, including an 11-year-old boy and a 54-year-old woman.

SGN has donated £500,000 to help the council support affected neighbours.

At a community meeting last week, attended by an SGN representative, angry residents accused the firm of having "blood on their hands", and said they made at least 18 calls reporting gas smells in the days before the explosion.

The Metropolitan Police's Specialist Crime Command has launched a criminal investigation.

On Saturday, the provider told residents it was "sorry" that work was taking longer than expected.

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