Police have arrested two more men after a grocery shop in Leicester exploded and burst into flames, killing five people.
Officers are already quizzing three men in connection with the blaze at the Polish Zabka supermarket on Sunday evening.
The latest arrests are both in their 30s and from East Anglia. The men have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause an explosion.
The shop was completely destroyed in the blast, which also ruined the two-storey flat above and stunned locals at around 7.20pm.
An aerial view of the scene of the explosion in Leicester, where five people died and a Polish supermarket and two-storey flat above were completely destroyed
Devastating: Two more men have been arrested in connection with the explosion (pictured) in Hinckley Road, Leicester on Sunday evening. Three are already being held on suspicion of manslaughter
Detectives were yesterday searching the home of the couple who own the shop, Aram Kurd, 33 and his girlfriend Akvile Martinkute, 31.
Forensic experts were seen scouring the £135,000 property, five miles from the scene of the blast, for hours yesterday.
The three other men currently being held in custody are also in their 30s and were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
Police have not yet confirmed if Mr Kurd is among those detained.
The incident on Hinckley Road follows the explosion in Boston, Lincolnshire, in 2011 which killed five Lithuanian men and was caused by an illegal vodka factory.
Leicestershire Police refused to comment on whether one of the lines of enquiry they were following was the possibility that the recent explosion was the result of an illegal alcohol distillery.
Five people died after a huge fireball tore through the supermarket and flats above, causing the entire building to collapse like a ‘pancake’.
The home of Aram Kurd (pictured left), the owner of the shop destroyed in a blast, is being searched by police (pictured right)
Mary Ragoobar (pictured), 46, and sons Shane, 18, and Sean, 17, have not been seen since the devastating explosion and are feared dead
Care worker Mary Ragoobeer, 46, and her two sons Shane, 18, and Sean, 17, who lived in the flat, are all feared dead.
Leah Beth Reek, 18, who is Shane’s girlfriend and 22-year-old shop worker Viktorija Ljevleva are believed to have died.
A Leicestershire Police spokesman said this afternoon: ‘Two more men have been arrested today (Friday 2 March) by detectives investigating the cause of an explosion and fire at a Leicester mini supermarket which left five people dead on Sunday evening.
‘The men, both in their 30s, and both from East Anglia, have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to cause an explosion and for offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
‘Both are in police custody where they will be questioned by detectives.
Missing feared dead: Mary Ragoobar and her sons Shane and Sean (pictured) are among the suspected victims of the Leicester explosion
Suspected victims: Leah Reek, 18, pictured left with boyfriend Shane and shop worker Viktorija Ljevleva right have not been found
‘No further details about these men, or the three others arrested on Wednesday and still in custody, will be released at this time.’
Shop owner Mr Kurd, who describes himself on social media as a security worker and translator, was working in the shop at the time of the explosion, and later told how he was trapped in the rubble narrowly avoiding serious injury.
Mrs Ragoobar moved into the two-bedroom property in Leicester four years ago along with her husband, Jose Ragoobar, 58, and the couple’s youngest son, Scotty, 15.
Mr Ragoobar was at work at the time of the incident on Sunday night, while Scotty was pulled from the rubble by a passer-by and is being treated in hospital.
All five victims will officially remain ‘missing’ until formal identifications take place. But police say this process could take some time.
Announcing the arrests, officers said there remained no evidence the explosion had any connection with terrorism.
Detectives were yesterday searching the home (pictured) of the couple who own the shop, Aram Kurd, 33 and his girlfriend Akvile Martinkute, 31
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