Worshippers 'safe' after explosion at Hare Krishna temple

Firefighters were this afternoon battling a fire at a Hare Krishna temple in Leicester, following an explosion. Initial reports said worshippers were trapped inside the blazing temple but the rescue service said later that everyone was accounted for. A third of the building in Thoresby Street was destroyed in the initial blast. The cause of fire has not yet been established. One eyewitness suggested it had been caused by a gas canister. The temple is in a residential street and there had been a series of ceremonial events taking place. Firefighters used thermal imaging cameras to look for worshippers inside the building, which was believed to be unstable. Gauranga Sundara Das, a Hare Krishna community leader in Leicester, said: "There were 30 people there today. "We were celebrating the birth of the founder of our movement ... I have spoken to someone who was outside at the time of the explosion. Apparently it came from a gas leak in the kitchen."