UK police arrest 3 men on suspicion of manslaughter over Leicester fire

LONDON: Three men have been arrested by British police on suspicion of manslaughter of five people, including three of Indian-origin, in an explosion that ripped through a building in the city of Leicester in the UK last week.
Three members of Indian-origin Ragoobeer family, which had moved to the UK from Mauritius, were among five people killed in the fire on Sunday evening that tore through a Polish shop on the ground floor and two-storeys of flats above.

Leicestershire Police said the three men arrested yesterday are all in their 30s and investigators are currently questioning them in connection with the fire.

"Whilst we will not disclose further details at this stage, we stress that there remains no evidence that the events of Sunday night are in any way terrorist related," Leicestershire Police said in a statement.

"In the interests of the ongoing investigation, and out of respect for the families of those missing feared dead, and those who were injured in the explosion and fire, we request that the media and public resist speculating about the identities of those arrested, the circumstances that may have led to their arrest and the cause of the explosion," it added.

Cafe worker Mary Ragoobeer, 46, and her sons Shane, 18, and Sean, 16, were in their flat, above a Polish store called Zabka at the time of an explosion which was followed by a massive blaze that reduced the entire building to rubble. Shanes girlfriend, Leah Reek, 18, and 22-year-old shopworker Viktorija Ijevleva, were also within the premises at the time.

All five are officially characterised as "missing" as police say that the human remains relating to five people recovered from the wreckage were in a state of devastation caused by the blast and subsequent fire and that it would be "considerable time" before the bodies can be formally identified.

Mary's husband, Jose Ragoobeer, a care worker, was not in the building at the time and their other son, 15-year-old Scotty, was reportedly pulled from the rubble by a passer-by and taken to hospital.

"We are devastated. It is an awful situation. We are a very close family," a family member said.

British Prime Minister Theresa May praised the city's emergency services during her weekly Prime Ministers Questions session in the House of Commons yesterday as she expressed "condolences to the family and friends of those who lost their lives" in the explosion and fire in Leicester.

"We should commend the actions and the work of the emergency services who day in, day out, do so much for all of us, but in circumstances like that really showed the great job that they do in dealing with that issue," she said.

Liz Kendall MP, in whose constituency the explosion occurred, told Parliament that the explosion had been "a terrible shock" to the local community.

"I know all of our thoughts are with families and friends of those who tragically lost their lives and those that have been injured," she said.

Prayers have been said for all those affected by the tragedy at the school attended by Sean Ragoobeer. The head of the English Martyrs Catholic School in Leicester, Marius Carney, described Sean as a "highly-committed student" and in letters to parents, she said the school had held "Masses for all those caught up in the tragedy and prayed for the emergency services".

Mary Ragoobeer worked at the King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester, where she was described as a "popular member of the cafe team" for the past two years.

"We are all deeply shocked and saddened by this terrible tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with her husband and family at this very difficult time," said Iain Gordon, director of the centre.