Body found in blast wreckage

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 04 September 2014 | 22.54

NSW Police confirm that a body has been found within the rubble and two other people are unaccounted for and that this is still a rescue mission.

ONE man is dead and a mother and her one-year-old son are missing after their first-floor units collapsed after an ­explosion in a store below.

Homicide detectives are investigating the suspected arson attack that turned a Rozelle building in Darling St into a pile of rubble.

FAMILY LOST IN RUBBLE OF CITY HORROR

PHOTO: INSIDE THE EXPLOSION ZONE

Bianka O'Brien and her son Jude who are feared to be victims of the Rozelle Convenience store explosion. Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook

The shop lies in ruins / Picture: John Grainger Source: Channel 9

The devastating scene after the blast which may have taken the lives of Bianka O'Brien and her baby boy Jude as well as another man. Source: Supplied

The body of an adult male was recovered last night by firefighters who vowed to stay at the scene until every piece of debris was overturned in the search for the two missing.

John O'Brien arrives at the scene / Picture: John Grainger Source: News Limited

John O'Brien and baby son Jude / Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook

Bianka O'Brien, 31, and her "cheeky monkey" baby boy Jude are still unaccounted for after a fireball ripped through the unit block. Chris Noble, 30, who lived in one of the units, was the other person reported missing.

Chris Noble / Picture: Channel 9 Source: News Corp Australia

A woman is comforted at the scene / Picture: John Grainger Source: News Limited

Ms O'Brien's blue Mazda remained parked outside the gutted unit yesterday.

Police suspect the blaze began in the rear of the ­Rozelle Convenience store — which not long ago traded as a 7-Eleven — below the two units, at 4.05am.

Bianka O'Brien with her husband John. There are grave fears for Mrs O'Brien and her baby boy Jude. Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook

The convenience store was almost completely levelled from front to back. Picture: NSW Fire & Rescue Source: Supplied

The entire site was levelled in the blast. Source: News Corp Australia

A man is also missing from a neighbouring unit. Source: News Corp Australia

Aerial view of the property from the rear — Darling St. Source: News Corp Australia

Another view of the devastated property from the air. Source: News Corp Australia

A view into the destroyed property from the Fire and Rescue cherry picker. Picture: NSW Fire & Rescue Source: Supplied

One of the Pakistani owners of the store — understood to be Adeel Khan, 43, — was "dug out" from beneath a mountain of bricks and a commercial fridge.

Two other men who lived with Mr Noble in a separate unit from the O'Briens leapt from their first-floor unit, ­suffering minor injuries from shattering glass.

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Three other people, two men and a woman, who lived in an adjoining building were evacuated uninjured. Two cars parked outside the building were written off.

Firefighters at the scene / Picture: Bill Hearne Source: News Corp Australia

Mrs O'Brien's distraught husband John, who was not home when the fire began, arrived at the scene before 7am looking for his family.

Firefighters, who were on the scene within minutes, heard and felt the explosion 1km away, while witnesses saw a fireball start from the back before exploding to the front of the building.

Firefighters continue to douse the site of the explosion with water this morning, hours after all hell broke loose. Picture: John Grainger Source: News Limited

Daylight reveals the full impact of the explosion on the surrounding street. Picture: John Grainger Source: News Limited

Police said a silver sedan, seen doing a U-turn and speeding from the scene only moments after the explosion, might be linked to the fire. A senior NSW Police spokesman said "it is looking more and more like a deliberate act" and an initial crime scene was broadened yesterday morning after a 25m trail of blood leading away from the building was found.

They are examining CCTV footage outside the store, which traded from 7am to 11pm.

Shop owner Mr Khan, who remained in Royal Prince ­Alfred Hospital last night with serious head and leg injuries, was yet to be ­interviewed.

Sue Ashe, who lives ­behind the building and was awake when the building ­exploded, described hearing a "bomb or gas explosion".

A mother and her young baby son are feared dead among the rubble of a Rozelle unit block after an explosion in a convenience store this morning.

Blood found at the scene. Picture; John Grainger Source: News Corp Australia

The site of the explosion and (inset) the business before it went up in flames. Picture: Google Source: Supplied

A massive explosion tore through a Sydney convenience store this morning, destroying the business and sending nearby residents scrambling for safety. Video: Bill Hearne

"It was a bright flash and a burst of flames and then an almighty bang at the back of the property and it seemed to move forward quite quickly all the way through the property," she said.

"I thought it was bomb or a gas explosion. I went out to the back and heard a man say 'help me, I'm trapped'."

Fire and Rescue Superintendent Paul Johnstone said crews arrived to find the building partially collapsed and had to call off search ­efforts when it became too dangerous. He said "flames were shooting out of the building" and windows 100m away had been smashed by the force of the blast.

Emergency crews assess the scene in Rozelle. Picture: Bill Hearne Source: News Corp Australia

The blaze took several hours to bring under control before the grim search for survivors began.

More than 50 firefighters, including the Urban Search and Rescue Unit, were using heat-detecting cameras and sniffer dogs to find the missing trio. "It's still a rescue and, as horrific as the scene is down there, we are still holding out hope there are survivors," Supt Johnstone said.

"Two people remain unaccounted for," a statement from Fire and Rescue said.

"It is yet to be determined if they are still inside."

The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage. Picture: Bill Hearne Source: News Corp Australia

Three people were treated at the scene by paramedics. Picture: Bill Hearne Source: News Corp Australia

Police Superintendent Clive Ainley said CCTV from the surrounding shops would be examined to see if a silver sedan seen at the scene was connected to the fire.

Neighbour Sue Atkinson said the sound of the explosion "shook" her out of bed. "It sounded like a bomb. I looked out the window and there was black smoke. We didn't get that close but there was a man, an Asian man, running frantically."

Neighbour James Considine said he heard a "death scream" of panic and saw 10m flames.

Additional reporting: Tanya Smart and Matt Bamford

Destroyed ... the aftermath of the explosion in Rozelle. Picture: Twitter/@carroll_anthony Source: Supplied

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