First picture of pensioner killed in Edinburgh house explosion
The 84-year-old died in a devastating blast.
An 84-year-old man who was killed in a suspected gas explosion at a house in Edinburgh has been named and pictured for the first time.
Jim Smith died after a devastating blast shook a street in the city on Friday night.
Police Scotland confirmed the pensioner’s death after a property in Baberton Mains Avenue was completely destroyed.
Emergency services rushed to the scene after receiving multiple calls about the incident at around 10.25pm.
A 43-year-old woman was rescued from the burning wreckage after she became trapped.
Neighbour Steven MacLennan, an army reservist, managed to pull her to safety and she was taken to hospital with injuries.
Another man, aged 54, was also hurt.
Pictures from the scene showed the demolished house with rubble piled up on the street in front.
Aerial images showed the sheer scale of the shocking damage.
Cops cordoned off the road and several nearby properties were evacuated as a precaution.
Cars and windows in the area had their windows smashed by lumps of debris that hurled into the road when the explosion happened.
Gas workers have been investigating alongside police to get to the bottom of the fatal blast.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: ‘An 84-year-old man has died following an explosion at a house in Baberton Mains Avenue in Edinburgh.
‘Emergency services attended and a 43-year-old woman and 54-year-old man were taken to hospital for treatment.
‘There are no suspicious circumstances and we are continuing to work alongside our partner agencies.’
Fire crews have also been examining the scene.
Elsewhere on Saturday, two people were rushed to hospital after an explosion at a terraced house in Merseyside.
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