Two people died at the scene of the suspected gas explosion in west London, London Fire Brigade said.
Station Commander Paul Morgan said: “It has been a painstaking and protracted incident with firefighters working systematically to stabilise the building and search for people involved.
“Operations have been concluded for the evening and will restart in the morning.
“The explosion caused substantial damage to the shop and structural damage throughout.
“In the initial stages firefighters rescued four adults and one child… at the rear of the property using a ladder. A further 14 adults and two children self-evacuated from surrounding properties.”
London Fire Brigade (LFB) believes people have died following a suspected gas explosion in King Street, Ealing, west London.
Station Commander Paul Morgan said: “Our crews continue to search the property using specialist equipment including the use of USAR (urban search and rescue) dogs.
“Sadly we believe that there are fatalities within the property although we’re unable to confirm numbers at this stage.
“The explosion caused substantial damage to the shop and structural damage throughout.
“It is a painstaking and protracted incident with firefighters working systematically to stabilise the building and search for people involved. We’d ask for people to avoid the area at this time.
“In the initial stages firefighters rescued four adults and one child… at the rear of the property using a ladder.
“A further 14 adults and two children self-evacuated from surrounding properties.”
