The family of a four-year-old girl killed in a gas blast that destroyed their home two years ago are still homeless and sleeping on the floor.
Sana Ahmad says she has been treated ‘appallingly’ and ‘forgotten about’ since losing her daughter Sahara Salman in an explosion believed to be triggered by a gas leak.
Despite a 24 month police investigation and £3.2 million spent assisting residents in Thornton Heath, South London, Sahara’s mum and three siblings are still without answers.
Speaking from a relatives’ home on Galpin’s Road, just a few doors down from where Sahara died, Sana said: ‘You’ve lost everything, you’re looking back two years down the line about what you’ve been through and there’s been no progression on it.
‘You’re still sleeping on the floor, on the same road, it is just appalling how we’ve been treated as a family. It’s horrific.
The explosion in Galpin’s Road, Thornton Heath, near Croydon, left three people seriously injured and tragically killed four-year-old Sahara Salman
Sahara Salman, 4, died after her terraced house collapsed. Two years on, her family are still homeless
Sana Ahmad says she has been treated ‘appallingly’ and ‘forgotten about’ since the blast
The house explosion took place in Thornton Heath, Croydon around 7am on August 8, 2022
‘We are being further traumatised by this because we are seeing this day in, day out. You lost your world that day, where you built memories, where your child was born, it is devastating.
‘Something surely could be done for us? Is it acceptable for us to be living where we are for the last two years? Is that ok to know that we are living on the same road, that we are sleeping on the floor? Is it fair to put a family through that?’
Residents had complained of a ‘sickening’ smell of gas for two weeks but their calls to gas distribution company Southern Gas Networks (SGN), who had been working on the road for ten days, went ignored.
At around 7.10am on August 8, 2022, an explosion ripped through the home of Elaine McDonald and Nigel Forde flattening it and trapping Elaine under the rubble for five hours.
She fell into a coma with 50 percent burns but miraculously survived.
But the blast also took out homes on both sides and Sahara, described by her mum as ‘the most incredible little girl’, was killed in her box bedroom.
Her mum was ‘badly injured’ in the explosion which felt like her house had been hit with ‘missiles’ and evacuated alongside Sahara’s three siblings and more than 500 residents from 80 homes.
In the months following the tragedy, many have sold or let out their homes but Sana remains on Galpin’s Road sleeping on a mattress in the living room of a relatives’ house alongside Sahara’s two brothers, now eight and nine, and sister, four.
The blast tore a huge hole in the wall of a neighbouring home exposing a child’s bedroom
A large pile of rubble in front of where the house was cordoned off by police tape
Speaking of life in the four bed home, which the family are sharing with ten other family members, she said: ‘We don’t have anywhere for our belongings, we are basically living out of rucksacks.
‘The children are getting taller. Your back starts to ache. After two years you get used to it.’
While Merton Council have tried their hardest to rehome her family, including making her an ‘exceptional priority’ for housing, Sana says all seven properties offered to her have been ‘unsuitable’.
The 30-year-old, who is signed off from her job as an IT systems administrator in the NHS, said: ‘One was rat infested. Another had no windows in the top two rooms. One had SGN working outside.
‘I don’t want to be in this area. The first thing you see is your former home and it’s destroyed and it’s gone to rubble. I go out, I see it, I come back, I see it, I look out the window, I see it.
‘You see all those posters, the memorial site. There is no escaping it. I don’t want to be constantly reminded of what happened to us.
‘They have offered me a temporary rental but that doesn’t offer my children stability. You need stability when you’ve got young children who have suffered such a tragic loss.’
Merton Council insists they have always been and remain ‘absolutely committed’ to supporting Sana and her family.
Sana says she gets one email a month from the Metropolitan Police notifying her the investigation remains ongoing (Pictured: Two officers on patrol following the explosion)
Shocked neighbours could only look on in dismay as the true scale of the explosion became apparent
Sana feels she has been treated ‘appalling’ by SGN who she has no contact with, and she gets one email a month from the Metropolitan Police notifying her the investigation remains ongoing.
She said: ‘What makes matters really bad is the police still haven’t given any indication as to when they are likely to conclude this investigation.
‘We don’t know what stage they are at, we need some sort of answer at this point. We feel like we’ve been forgotten about.
‘I have not yet registered Sahara’s death because the investigation is taking place, that is another milestone that I have to go through in order to deal with my grief, I have not been able to do that, not been given that closure.’
The family home, which Sana rented off her mother and Merton Council claim did not have building insurance, was eventually knocked down with four other homes and remains a pile of rubble.
Dozens of cuddly toys, written tributes and ‘Justice4Galpin’s’ signs cover the over six foot high hoardings which block off the demolition site.
It is unsurprising that Sahara’s siblings get upset when they see building sites, and regularly ask about their sister – they are fully aware of what happened to her.
Sana will spend the second anniversary of her daughter’s death at her graveside at a nearby cemetery.
But she remains desperate for answers and wants someone held accountable immediately.
She said: ‘As the time is drawing closer, the pain is becoming worse. Grief isn’t something that is going to go away. It never does. Especially if you don’t have the answers.
‘It doesn’t make any sense to somebody if you are told by a company ‘we are keeping you safe’. You put your trust in that company.
‘I do want somebody to be held accountable for this, I need answers. I need the inquest to take place and ideally I’d like to start seeing some changes.
‘You can’t understand why you lost a child, you don’t understand. Tomorrow [Tuesday July 30] will be two years since I rang SGN to tell them I could smell gas on the road. I didn’t know that phone call would drastically destroy my life. Nine days later, your neighbour’s home is destroyed and you find out your child has passed away in a blast.’
Employees of Southern Gas Networks, which had been carrying out works in the road at the time of the incident, were on the scene after the blast
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘We continue to work closely with colleagues from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in what remains an extremely complex investigation.
‘We are pursuing a number of lines of enquiry, many of which are very specialist in their nature, and painstakingly reviewing significant volumes of material to establish the circumstances leading to the explosion. We remain committed to providing answers to the people of Galpin’s Road and all those affected by this incident as expeditiously as possible.’
A spokesperson for gas network company SGN. ‘Our thoughts remain with the family of Sahara, the residents who were seriously injured and the wider community. We’re continuing to support the ongoing investigation, which is being led by the Metropolitan Police.’
A spokesperson for the Merton Council said they have spent £3.2 million supporting residents of Galpin’s Road.
They added: ‘Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Sahara Salman, who tragically died in the explosion. All of the damaged properties are privately owned and almost everyone has now returned home. A dedicated council team provided intensive support to many of those affected by the tragedy – right up until this year.
‘This included help to rehouse a number of families made homeless in the explosion. We continue to provide tailored support for a number of families, including some who are waiting for building work to be completed before they can go back home.’
The Health and Safety Executive referred all comments to the Metropolitan Police.
