Woman's body found after explosion at Whalan townhouse in Western Sydney

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A tragic discovery has confirmed the worst fears of a family after the body of 30-year-old Mhey Jasmine was found in the wreckage of a home that exploded in Western Sydney. The intensive search began on Saturday at the townhouse in Whalan. The incident has sparked anger among some neighbours, who claim that their prior concerns about the smell of gas in the area were ignored, raising questions about the response to the potential danger signs before the explosion.

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00:00 For more than 36 hours, emergency workers searched through the rubble hoping Mae Jasmine

00:08 was still alive.

00:10 Tapping sounds detected early on stopped.

00:14 At two o'clock this morning, the body of the 30-year-old was discovered under a concrete

00:19 slab in what used to be the kitchen.

00:23 The nursing student was visiting her elderly mother at the time of the explosion.

00:28 As you can imagine, mum's devastated.

00:36 In a statement, the family thanked emergency services for their tireless efforts and said

00:41 they're appreciative of their support, kindness and assistance.

00:45 Neighbours paid tribute to her life, cut short.

00:49 When all of these flats back onto your backyard, it seriously hits home.

00:53 We're very, very sorry that this has happened.

00:56 After the blast on Saturday, crews began removing debris by hand.

01:01 Last night, they brought in a crane to do the heavy lifting.

01:04 Now the rescue mission is over, the police investigation has begun to determine exactly

01:10 what happened.

01:12 Residents say they've been smelling gas for as long as a year.

01:16 It's just heartbreaking that it's happened so close to home and we've smelled gas for

01:19 such a long time too.

01:20 How can you feel safe when that just happened?

01:23 The state government which owns the complex says on two occasions issues with the gas

01:28 mains were reported and fixed, most recently in April this year.

01:33 The question will be and should be, well, was it something that could have been known

01:39 about?

01:40 Was it preventable?

01:41 The gas supplier, Gemina, says it expects an investigation to take some time.

01:47 The explosion could be heard several kilometres from here and it's clear it's had a big

01:52 impact on the wider community.

01:54 Mental health support has been set up in Mount Druitt for anyone who needs help.

01:59 Those who've been made homeless are being provided temporary housing until it's safe

02:04 to return.

02:05 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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