House blast man killed by debris

Two houses were completely destroyed

A man killed when an explosion ripped through his neighbour's property in north London died from neck injuries, post-mortem tests have shown.

Emmad Qureshi, 26, was found buried beneath rubble at his terraced home in Stanley Road, South Harrow.

Two others injured in Wednesday's blast remain in hospital.

Police are looking at a possible link to reports of a purple liquid being poured through the letterbox of the house next door to Mr Qureshi's.

Officers believe a 17-year-old girl may have been the intended target of the attack which took place about 10 hours before the blast.

The teenager suffered serious burns in the explosion which happened at about 2140 BST.

A 26-year-old man, who was visiting Mr Qureshi suffered head and arm injuries. Both are in a stable condition.

Rotten egg smell

Two houses were completely destroyed and a third house was damaged in the blast which police are treating as suspicious.

Detectives said on the morning of the explosion, the teenager had reported that a group of girls were causing a disturbance outside the house.

She later told police that the mysterious liquid, which had a distinctive smell of rotten eggs, was poured through the letterbox between 0900 and 1000 BST the same day.

Detectives have said the liquid may be linked to the blast and they will be consulting experts to identify the substance.

A police spokesman said work to identify the liquid would not begin until they had access to the property, which was likely to be next week.

Speaking after the blast, Det Ch Insp Colin Sutton said they had not ruled out a gas explosion but experts had said it was "unlikely to be the cause".

Up to 60 people who live in Stanley Road remain in temporary accommodation as the road has been closed to allow for recovery work.

Harrow Council said gas and structural checks were being carried out in the hope of allowing some people to return home on Saturday evening.