Three people were arrested in Britain over an explosion that killed two people, including a young boy. File Photo by Andy Rain/EPA
Three unidentified men in Britain were arrested Wednesday as suspects in a recent deadly house explosion that killed two people, including a young boy.
A man in his 50s and two other men in their 30s are suspected of being connected to the Oct. 16 blast that killed 35-year-old Jason Laws and 7-year-old Archie York in Violet Close in Benwell, Newcastle. Advertisement
“This has been a truly tragic incident which resulted in the loss of two lives,” Northumbria police detective Kate Smith told the BBC.
The three men remain in police custody.
They were arrested on suspicion of two counts of manslaughter and production of cannabis, which is labeled as a “Class B” drug in Britain, according to the local Northumbria police.
Reports say more than 120 civilians had been forced out from their residences as a result and three adults were taken to hospital where one remains with “serious” injuries.
A local Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service official on scene roughly a half hour after the deadly incident took place described it as the “most challenging” incident faced by the department years. Advertisement
Meanwhile, Northumbria police asked the public on social media to avoid rumors and speculation surrounding the incident both online and in the local community.
The young victim’s parents and then-2-month-old brother were treated in hospital at the time and released soon after.
The family relocated to the Benwell home in Britain’s county of Tyne and Wear in northeast England — under Scotland — not long after Archie had been born seven years ago. British news media said young Archie was a primary school student learning how to swim and enjoyed violin playing.
Archie was a “loving boy, with a cheeky little grin on his face all of the time,” his aunt, Abbie York, told BBC.
