Southall gas explosion: Two dead after building collapses in west London
Two people died at the scene of the suspected gas explosion in Ealing, west London, the London Fire Brigade said.
Station Commander Paul Morgan said: "It has been a painstaking and protracted incident with firefighters working systematically to stabilise the building and search for people involved.
"Operations have been concluded for the evening and will restart in the morning.
"The explosion caused substantial damage to the shop and structural damage throughout.
"In the initial stages firefighters rescued four adults and one child... at the rear of the property using a ladder. A further 14 adults and two children self-evacuated from surrounding properties."
The Metropolitan Police are not treating the incident as suspicious.
Residents near the scene of a suspected gas explosion which has killed two people said their homes "shook" at around 6.30am on Wednesday.
Nurmila Hamid, 38, said she felt the blast as she was getting her children ready for school.
She said: "The house shook, and I turned to my husband and said 'what is that?'
"And he said 'it's a blast' and he went to look after taking the children to school - he said it was at a phone shop."
Police have cordoned off either end of King Street as emergency teams work to recover anybody who might be in the shop affected and surrounding buildings.
