- The Washington Times - Sunday, February 25, 2018

A Polish grocery shop in Leicester, England, was destroyed Sunday evening in what local authorities are describing as a “major incident” that sent at least four people to the hospital.

According to the Leicestershire Police Twitter account, “all emergency services are currently dealing with this” explosion, and police told people to “please avoid the area.”

The police later tweeted that “at this stage there is no indication this is terrorist related.”

The East Midlands Ambulance Service said it had “taken four patients to the Leicester Royal Infirmary at this stage” with doctors still on the scene. Several British news outlets said those four people were in critical condition late Sunday.

Witnesses in Leicester said there was considerable smoke and fire from the Western Park Store, which is next to a bus stop on Hinckley Road.

“It’s blown the shop across both sides of lanes and there is carnage everywhere. It rattled doors and windows here,” one resident of that Leicester street told the Daily Mirror.

There was no immediate word on casualties, but the Daily Mirror, again citing neighbors, reported that the destroyed building had a housing property above the store.

• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.

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