Emergency crews have found what are believed to be the bodies of a mother and son after a Sydney explosion.
- Police seek driver of silver sedan seen leaving scene of the blast
- Rescuers use listening devices, cameras, sniffer dogs in search for pair
- Forensic officers to begin investigation as soon as site is secure
- Darling St remains closed today as recovery continues
UPDATE: RESCUE crews have found what is believed to be the bodies of Bianka O'Brien and her son Jude in the rubble of their Rozelle home.
Earlier, firefighters were seen carrying two stretchers into the collapsed building, destroyed in what police believe to have been an arson attack at 4am yesterday.
Firefighters emerged from the building with the bodies. Their colleagues looked on, heads bowed. The devastated officers have been stood down.
A coroner's van arrives collect the bodies. Picture: Bob Barker. Source: News Corp Australia
The remains are yet to be identified but they are believed to be the missing pair. The adult's body was found about 10.30am and the infant was found just after 1pm.
The discovery follows the recovery of another man, Chris Noble, last night.
This afternoon Mr Noble's mother Liz Noble said her family had "lost our beautiful boy".
"He should have been safe sleeping in his bed."
Chris Noble's family holds a press conference following his tragic death in an explosion and ensuing fire at a convenience store in Rozelle. Picture: Craig Greenhill Source: Supplied
Mrs Noble said the grieving family felt for the other families "affected by this tragedy"
"We are gutted. We'll remember Chris for his athleticism, his work ethic, his watch collection and his love and loyalty for his family and friends."
In particular, the family wanted to thank everyone who had worked at the explosion site.
Detective Superintendent Murray Chapman said the case was absolutely tragic.
"Three people have lost their lives in this event, and our thoughts are with their families and friends who are grief-stricken," Detective Chapman said.
Strike Force Baracchi has been formed to investigate the fire, which is being treated as suspicious.
The explosion site is being treated as a crime scene while the cause was determined. Because the cause was still unclear police couldn't say they were treating the incident as a triple murder.
He said: "Specialist detectives from the Property Crime Squad's Arson Unit are leading this investigation, and are working closely with colleagues from Central Metropolitan Region, Leichhardt Local Area Command and other emergency services agencies to determine how and why this tragic event occurred.
"We are treating the fire as suspicious, however, given the investigation is still in its infancy, I cannot go into detail on our lines of inquiry."
Emergency crews take out stretchers which hold the bodies of Bianka O'Brien and her son Jude, believed to be killed in the explosion. Photo: Bob Barker. Source: News Corp Australia
The shop owner, Adeel Khan, is still in hospital and hasn't been spoken to by police.
Superintendent Tom Cooper of NSW Fire and Rescue said the process in recovering the bodies was long and involved and completed while brick walls threatened to collapse around rescuers
Because of the extent of the damage police still haven't had full access to the scene.
The explosion is being treated as a crime scene. Source: News Corp Australia
A couple, visibly upset, leave the scene in Rozelle. Source: News Corp Australia
EARLIER:
THE driver of a silver sedan seen fleeing the scene of yesterday's devastating explosion in Rozelle is the key for investigators in establishing what caused the fatal fire.
More than a day after a fireball ripped through a small Darling St unit block, firefighters are continuing a rescue operation for Bianka O'Brien, 31, and her "cheeky monkey" one-year-old son Jude.
The body retrieved last night is thought to be Chris Noble. Picture: Channel 9 Source: Channel 9
Convenience store owner Adeel Khan with his wife Naima. Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook
Both are feared dead after the body of a man, believed to be missing resident Chris Noble, 30, was recovered at 11pm last night. The man was found in the front left-hand side of the building facing Darling St.
Police said the man's identity was yet to be confirmed. He and two other men, who leapt from the first floor unit to safety, lived in an adjacent unit to the O'Brien's unit above the convenience store where the fire started.
BODY BELIEVED TO BE CHRIS NOBLE
TRAFFIC CLOSURES AROUND BLAST SITE
FAMILY LOST IN RUBBLE OF CITY HORROR
PHOTO: INSIDE THE EXPLOSION ZONE
Firefighters remove the body of a man from the explosion zone in Rozelle last night. Picture: Bill Hearne Source: News Corp Australia
A large stretch of Darling Street remains blocked off this morning. Picture: Ross Schultz Source: News Corp Australia
Mrs O'Brien's husband John — who left for work at a hospital at 3am yesterday, an hour before the blast, and returned at 7am to find his home a mound of rubble and his wife and child missing — was being consoled by family.
Police Superintendent Clive Ainley said the arson unit from the property and serious crime squad was leading the investigation.
He said while the fire appeared suspicious given the magnitude of the blast — which sent projectiles crashing through shops across the road, smashed windows 100m away and was felt and heard by firefighters 1km away in Balmain — it was not yet a homicide investigation.
Bianka O'Brien and her son Jude who are feared to be victims of the Rozelle Convenience store explosion. Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook
"The main priority is the rescue and searching of the blast site," Supt Ainley said.
"We haven't tracked that driver down at this stage. We are calling upon witnesses who may have information. If anyone has any information about this car, you can give that information anonymously. It's a line of inquiry we need to follow."
Supt Ainley said CCTV from surrounding shops would be vital to investigators and all fires were treated as suspicious unless proven otherwise.
The shop lies in ruins yesterday. Picture: John Grainger Source: Channel 9
NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendent Tom Cooper said more than 50 firefighters were engaged in a "delicate, brick by brick" operation to find Mrs O'Brien and Jude.
"We've tried to make the buildings of the walls safe so firefighters can continue the task of removing the rubble and searching for further victims," he said.
Fire crews and police keep vigil at the site last night as rain hampered recovery efforts. Picture: Bill Hearne Source: News Corp Australia
Firefighters had removed about a quarter of the rubble from the blast. While wanting to remove the debris as quickly as possible to find the missing pair, rescue crews were being wary of an unstable suspended concrete slab above the rubble.
Listening devices and cameras are being used to examine areas "where people may have been able to survive". Two SES sniffer dogs trained to look for living people were also deployed yesterday.
Darling St remains closed today as recovery efforts continue. Source: Supplied
Supt Cooper said the highly trained and internationally experienced Urban Search and Rescue unit — made up of firefighters, the SES, police and engineers — were using information from survivors and images of the building before the blast from Google Maps.
"We haven't found anyone but we are not giving up. It was very reminiscent of Christchurch," he said.
"The first 24 hours is critical as time diminishes so does the chance of finding survivors, however we won't be taking any shortcuts. We will not leave the site until we are sure that everybody has been accounted for.
John O'Brien arrives at the scene / Picture: John Grainger Source: News Limited
John O'Brien and baby son Jude / Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook
"We are not giving up hope, as we saw in Thredbo with Stuart Diver (who survived several days after a ski lodge was demolished by an landslide in 1997) and with earthquakes around the world people do get found after a certain amount of time."
Searching for a young mother and baby boy feared dead was an "unpleasant" operation for firefighters, Supt Cooper said.
The entire site was levelled in the blast. Source: News Corp Australia
Supt Cooper could not say whether gas or some type of accelerant was possibly used in the blaze.
"We are not sure. All we know is there has been some sort of significant explosion and it was a severe explosion due to the damage to the shops across the road and adjacent to the building," he said.
The 43-year-old Pakistani owner of Rozelle Convenience — who was pulled from the rubble at the back of the building covered by a fridge and with only his hands sticking out after he was heard crying for help — Adeel Khan remains in hospital.
His distraught wife was by his side as he was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries to his head and legs.
Firefighters at the scene yesterday morning as the blaze continued to burn. Picture: Bill Hearne Source: News Corp Australia
Local businesses said the convenience store, which the couple opened late last year, was not open 24 hours. It is unclear what Mr Khan was doing at the store at 4am.
Police said they are yet to interview him.
Firefighters doused the site in the aftermath of the explosion. Picture: John Grainger Source: News Limited
Emergency crews assess the scene in Rozelle. Picture: Bill Hearne Source: News Corp Australia
The site of the explosion and (inset) the business before it went up in flames. Picture: Google Source: Supplied
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