The mother of a young girl who was killed in a gas explosion in London has told how her world has been “torn apart” as she accused a gas distribution company of failing to carry out repair work.
Sahara Salman died on Monday, a month before her fifth birthday, while three people were seriously as a result of the collapse of a house after the blast in Croydon. Her mother, Sana Ahmad, said on Tuesday that she had contacted the supplier, Southern Gas Networks (SGN), about a suspected leak on 30 July.
Recounting the moment of the explosion and its aftermath, she told the Evening Standard: “I had two children in my room and then Sahara in the box room, and my eldest in the room towards the garden. My room is the one facing the main road.
“My instinct was to grab all my children but as I’d gone to the hallway Sahara’s room had collapsed already. There was no sign of me even getting to her. The explosion was so bad that it almost fell like missiles were dropped on the properties. That’s how quickly the building started to fall down.”
Sahara was due to start school in September. Her mother said: “The world is so cruel. We have lost our daughter who is our pride and our joy.”
Ahmad said she had called SGN after her mother detected a smell and someone from the company had come to investigate the following day, but they said there were no major issues.
“He said that he would send another guy who was higher up than him to inspect the property because he wasn’t totally sure. Unfortunately that other guy never did show up. The work wasn’t fully carried out. They did tell us there were loads of little gas leaks – they said that pipes had been leaking but that they were minor leaks.”
SGN has been contacted for comment about the claims, but a spokesperson for the company has said separately that it is currently limited in what it can say due to an ongoing police investigation
He added: “We understand the local community has also been deeply affected by the serious incident and we’d like to reassure everyone we are working closely with investigators and assisting the emergency services.”
Six to eight houses were damaged in the explosion. About 80 homes were evacuated, after the cordon was extended on Tuesday over fears for residents’ safety.
On Wednesday morning, Merton Council confirmed that the 200-metre cordon would remain in place on the advice of the Health and Safety Executive.
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