‘World is so cruel’, says mother of child who died in gas explosion

THE MOTHER of a girl who was killed in a gas explosion in a south London house has said their world “has been torn apart” following the tragedy last week.

Sahara Salman, four, who was due to start her schooling in September, died as her house collapsed following the explosion in Croydon last Monday (8) and three others suffered serious injuries.

“We have lost our daughter who is our pride and our joy,” her mother Sana Ahmad said, “the world is so cruel.”

Recounting the August 8 explosion, the grieving mother said, “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.”

She told the Evening Standard, “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 felt like missiles were dropped on the properties. That’s how quickly the building started to fall down.”

The Metropolitan Police said the body of the child was recovered from the building and several neighbouring properties were evacuated as a precaution. Residents who were evacuated are still not sure when they can come back home.

The force said those injured in the incident were recovering.

A spokesperson for Southern Gas Networks said the company was working closely with investigators and assisting the emergency services.