A murder trial jury has seen footage of a huge shop explosion in Leicester, in which five people died.
Coventry man Hawkar Hassan, 33, is one of three people who denies murder or manslaughter at Leicester Crown Court in connection with the explosion, which took place on Sunday February 25, just after 7pm.
Footage seen by the jury included a Leicester City Council CCTV scene of Hinckley Road - as the Zabka supermarket and two storey flat above suddenly erupted onto the road, amid a huge cloud of masonry, dust, and smoke that completely obscured the highway from view.
Shopkeeper, Aram Kurd, 34, and Arkan Ali, 37, and Hassan all deny five counts of murder or manslaughter.
Those who died were Mary Ragoobeer, 46, along with sons Sean Ragoobeer, 17, Shane Ragoobeer, 18, and Shane’s girlfriend, Leah Beth Reek, 18 - who were in the two-storey flat above.
Ali’s girlfriend, Viktorija Ijevleva, 22, who was in the shop, also died.
Kurd, Ali, and Hassan, also deny conspiring together and with Miss Ijevleva to commit insurance fraud allegedly relating to a deliberate fire at the shop, which was expected to pay out up to £300,000.
The jury were shown clips of the defendants’ movements on the day before, when Hassan purchased 26 litres of petrol he then allegedly used to torch the basement under the shop.
The trial continues.
