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Explosion in English city of Leicester injures 4, destroys home and convenience store

Click to play video: 'Flames rip through convenience store in Leicester, England'
Flames rip through convenience store in Leicester, England
Four people are in a critical condition after an explosion destroyed a store in Leicester. Police declared a major incident after the blast in a street in Leicester on Sunday night – Feb 25, 2018
LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – An explosion destroyed a convenience store and a home in the central English city of Leicester on Sunday, injuring at least four people, officials said.Pictures and videos posted on Twitter showed flames leaping into the sky from the site which was reduced to rubble.“All emergency services are currently dealing with this,” the police force said in a statement. “Please avoid the area.”The local ambulance service said it took four patients to hospital and its hazardous response team was at the site.WATCH: British police respond to ‘major incident’ in city of Leicester
Click to play video: 'British police respond to ‘major incident’ in city of Leicester'
British police respond to ‘major incident’ in city of Leicester
The city’s fire department said it sent six fire engines after the reports of a large explosion and a building collapse.READ MORE: Witnesses describe scenes of ‘complete terror’ after explosion hits London subwayA picture used by the Leicester Mercury newspaper showed a blaze and the rubble of a destroyed building which the newspaper said housed a convenience store and a flat above it.“We heard an absolutely massive explosion. It was pretty frightening,” the Mercury quoted an unidentified resident, who lives a few streets away, as saying.“We went to look out of the upstairs windows and saw loads of smoke, and then a few seconds later massive orange flames.”There were no immediate indications that the explosion was linked to terrorism, broadcaster Sky News reported, citing unidentified sources.

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