Yesterday’s blast was so powerful the walls of up to four units collapsed and roof tiles and windows were damaged in neighbouring houses.

The 71-year-old owner of the unit where the explosion occurred is in a critical condition in hospital after being trapped under rubble. Police are yet to speak to him.

Detective Sergeant Steve Post says police and fire investigators will sift through the rubble of the units to find out what caused the explosion.

“We’re keeping our mind open to the fact that there may be some criminal intent but then again it may just be a tragic accident that’s occurred,” he said.

Sergeant Post says initial inquiries suggest the blast happened inside the apartment block.

“At this point it would appear that the explosion has occurred from within the building and that is basically because both walls have been blown out,” he said.

“We’ll be concentrating our efforts in that area and basically going through the rubble to try and ascertain what it actually was that caused that explosion.”

But the extensive damage to the building could delay the process somewhat.

“The actual structure has to be made safe before anybody can go inside there for obvious reasons and then it will be the painstaking job of actually picking through all that rubble to try and work out what device if any was involved,”
Sergeant Post said.