Edinburgh house explosion: Neighbours speak about terror of deadly Baberton house explosion last night

84-year-old victim of Edinburgh house explosion named locally as ‘Jim’

Local residents have been speaking of their shock at the house explosion which killed an 84-year-old man and rocked Baberton last night, leaving two other people in hospital.

The scene on Baberton Mains Avenue is like something out of a war zone this morning, with one home completely demolished and another home cut open. Neighbours on the street have been evacuated, with many homes and parked cars damaged, tiles missing from roofs and windows smashed. A large area has been cordoned off by police officers, who remain at the scene.

The man who sadly passed away was named locally as ‘Jim’, and the couple taken to hospital were named as ‘Steph and Rob’.

It appears that one home was completely demolished with the neighbouring home partially destroyed.

Shocked residents spoke this morning about the noise of the explosion and how neighbours raced to the scene to try to help last night.

One local resident who lives just four doors up from the home that was destroyed in the explosion last night, and asked not to be named, told the Evening News that she and her family were evacuated after being woken by the blast at around 10.30pm last night.

She said: I was in my bed sleeping and I was woken by what I thought was a plane. The windows were smashed. My garage and greenhouse windows are all smashed. It was more the vibration. Like a large draft and a bang, it was a phenomenal and scary experience.

"There is rubble everywhere, apparently there is debris in the other street over.

The scene of devastation at Baberton Mains Avenue the morning after the late-night house explosion on Friday, December 1.

"The couple got out thankfully. They are ok. But poor Jim passed away. He was a lovely man. He lost his wife to dementia about seven or eight years ago. It’s so sad.

“We were asked to leave last night. We went to my mum’s house, she lives just a street away so we went there. Other neighbours went to stay with their families too, while I know of one who went to a hotel.”

Another local woman, who asked not to be named, lives around 500 yards from the scene, and recalled the shock at being woken by the explosion last night.

She said: “My loft door flew open, I didn’t know what had happened until I got up this morning and had lots of pings on my phone from people checking I was ok.

Baberton Mains Avenue remains partially closed this morning, with residents evacuated following the explosion.

"I know the couple who were taken to hospital, Steph and Rob, they are lovely people and friends of mine. I’m just glad they are not too badly hurt.

"Everyone here is just really shocked this morning. You never think anything like that would happen in houses like these.”

Another local resident in the next street, Baberton Mains Place, who asked not to be named, recalled the terrifying incident which saw locals race to help their neighbours.

She said: “It was about 10.30pm. It was a real fright. It was really loud. Nobody knew what the noise was at first. Everyone was in the street running around. It was very crazy.

"People went to the house to help, they tried to help pull the people out of the rubble. There was a fire also, it was crazy.

"There are bricks in our street and we have got three holes in our roof. We are all just in shock this morning about what happened to this quiet area last night.”

Police officers remain at the scene, with two fire engines leaving the street at around 10am this morning. The road remains partially closed, with a large area taped off by police.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “There are no suspicious circumstances and we are continuing to work alongside our partner agencies."