British police declared a major incident on Sunday after a large blast destroyed a convenience store and a home in the central English city of Leicester. Pictures and videos posted on Twitter showed flames leaping into the sky above the city and the remains of what some witnesses said was a convenience store and a house that had been destroyed in the blast.
"All emergency services are currently dealing with this," the police force said in a statement. "Please avoid the area." The city's fire dept sent six fire engines after reports of a large explosion and a building collapse. "We got a call about an hour ago after reports of a large explosion and a building collapse," a firefighter in the fire dept's control room said.