Man dies after suspected gas explosion rips through east London flats

Firefighters find victim’s body under debris following blast

Emergency Services at the scene in Weddington Street in Stratford after a man died following a suspected gas explosion. (@999London)

A man has died after a suspected gas explosion ripped through a block of flats in east London. 

Police and fire crews were called to the blast in Waddington Street, Stratford just before 8am on Sunday and a man was found under debris at the scene.

The London Fire Brigade said it was believed there had been an explosion in a first floor flat that caused structural damage to the two-storey building.

Firefighters searched searched the property and found the man. 

Ambulance crews pronounced him dead at the scene. Police confirmed that enquiries are currently ongoing to locate and identify his next of kin. 

Around 13 other residents at the block were evacuated before emergency services arrived and police later confirmed that an early assessment of the cause of the blast was a gas explosion.

Road closures remain in place.