Three men in their 30s have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following the Hinckley Road explosion on Sunday which killed five people, Leicestershire Police said.

The human remains of five people have been recovered from the wreckage of a shop and flats above, but it may be some time before these can be formally identified, the force has said.

Police yesterday named five people missing since the explosion on Sunday night.

They are Mary Rajoobeer, 46, and her two sons Shane, 18, and Sean, 17, Leah Beth Reek, 18, who was Shane’s girlfriend, and Viktorija Ljevleva, 22.

The three arrested men comes East Anglia, the North West and the East Midlands.

In relation to the arrests, a Leicestershire Police statement said:

“Police investigating the cause of the explosion and fire in Leicester on Sunday evening (25 February) have arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter.

“The three men, all in their 30s, have been arrested in the last hour and are being questioned by detectives.

“One man comes from East Anglia, the second from the North West of the country, and the third from the East Midlands.

“No further details will be released about these individuals at this stage.”

The force added: “We acknowledge that the terrible events of Sunday night in Hinckley Road have attracted significant public, political and media interest.

“However, in the interests of the ongoing investigation, and out of respect for the families of those missing feared dead, and those who were injured in the explosion and fire, we request that the media and public resist speculating about the identities of those arrested, the circumstances that may have led to their arrest and the cause of the explosion.

“Whilst we will not disclose further details at this stage, we stress that there remains no evidence that the events of Sunday night are in any way terrorist related.”