Sydney explosion: woman's body found in rubble - MASHAHER

Key Points

The body of a woman has been found after an explosion destroyed a unit in Sydney.
The blast, which is under investigation, occurred on Saturday morning in Whalan in the city’s west.
Residents reported a gas smell for weeks before the explosion.

Rescue teams have found the body of a woman after an explosion collapsed a western Sydney unit complex.

A woman in her 30s was missing and feared buried alive after levelled most of the two-storey property just before 1pm on Saturday.

Authorities said the body of a woman, yet to be formally identified, was found about 3.20am on Monday.

Emergency crews had been working around the clock, combing the ruins amid increasing concerns gas had been leaking from the complex. Speculation had been mounting since neighbours reported a smell over the past weeks.

“There was always a gas smell … like a leak,” Andrew, whose grandfather lives in the complex, told Nine News.

The cause of the explosion is still being investigated, but neighbours suspect it was the result of a gas leak. Source: Supplied / Fire and Rescue NSW

Another neighbour said she felt unsafe and worried her home might also be affected.

“I don’t want to sleep here at all,” she told ABC News.

“My whole house is run on gas, I can’t even have a hot shower because they have turned it off (and) I can’t use my stove.”

“We could smell gas for the last two weeks,” another woman said.

While the cause of the explosion remains unknown, NSW Deputy Premier Prue Car said she was “deeply concerned” and that the reports of a gas smell were being urgently investigated.

Fire and rescue personnel search though rubble following the explosion of a townhouse.

The search and rescue technicians included firefighters who responded to last year’s earthquake disaster in Türkiye. Source: AAP / Mark Evans

NSW Fire and Rescue commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell also said there had been a leak at the site after the explosion which hampered rescue efforts.

Dozens of search and rescue technicians, including firefighters who responded to , had been working at the scene.

Firefighters were using acoustic monitoring devices to capture sounds under the ruins while search cameras were used to peer under rubble and concrete slabs to look for possible survivors.

Source Agencies