Floral tributes as body found in search for young nurse Jasmin Mhey in rubble of Whalan unit block
The family of the nurse killed in a horror unit explosion in Western Sydney has spoken, hours after the grim discovery of her body in the rubble.
NSW
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The family of Jasmin Mhey — the 30-year-old nurse killed as she stood in the kitchen area of her mother’s Western Sydney home when the unit exploded from a suspected gas leak — has thanked emergency services workers for their efforts.
Jasmin Mhey was visiting her mother’s unit on Waikanda Cres, Whalan, on Saturday afternoon when the top floor of the building suddenly exploded.
The blast could be heard as far as 40km away and left six people hospitalised, destroyed several surrounding units and damaged other nearby homes.
Ms Mhey was the only person unaccounted for in the blast, but an urgent search and rescue mission through the rubble of the building ended in tragedy when her body was recovered early on Monday morning.
Blacktown Police Area Command Superintendent Darren Newman appeared teary-eyed as he provided an update to the media near the scene on Monday morning, where he revealed Ms Mhey’s body was found in what was believed to be the kitchen area of the unit.
In a statement on Monday, Ms Whey’s family thanked all the police officers, NSW Fire and Rescue personnel and NSW Ambulance paramedics for their tireless efforts wince the weekend.
“The family is so appreciative of their support, kindness and assistance,” they said in a statement.
“We’d also like to thank the public for their prayers and for respecting our privacy at this tragic time.
Supt Newman said emergency workers had arrived to a “very confronting scene” in the wake of the explosion.
NSW Ambulance Chief Superintendent Ian Johns said multiple other people self presented at hospitals after the blast.
Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell said heavy machinery and a large crane were brought in to help remove the rubble during the rescue.
“It was as a result of being able to lift those large portions of the slab and gain further entry into the previously restricted rooms within the apartment, that we were able to finally locate the missing person,” he said.
“As you can imagine, mum is devastated,” Supt Newman said.
“We will continue to provide the family with support through our family liaison network, and just making sure that she is looked after as best as we possibly can.”
He said police will undergo a significant assessment of the scene with Fire and Rescue, with independent gas experts to be brought in to determine what caused the blast.
He said Homes NSW will open a Community Health Centre in Mt Druitt for the next week with clinicians to help those affected in the blast.
There is no further threat to any surrounding homes.
The investigation is ongoing.
TRIBUTES FLOW
Flower tributes have been left at the scene after the body was discovered in the rubble.
Fire and rescue crews and police remained at the scene early on Monday morning, with both ends of Waikanda Cres blocked off with police tape.
Amid the sombre scene, a bouquet of flowers was left at the edge of the police tape on the higher end of the street as a tribute.
The explosion, which destroyed several surrounding units, damaged other properties and injured six people, is thought to have been caused by a gas leak.
Ms Mhey’s mother, Mercy, told neighbours she had complained of a leaking gas smell for months before the explosion.
The distraught woman had kept a vigil across the street with a close eye on the search effort for any news of her daughter’s wellbeing.
NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson said on Sunday temporary accommodation was being organised for those affected by the blast.
She said the explosion was “devastating” and has told NSW Homes to “urgently investigate” the claims of a gas smell.
A gas leak is thought to have caused the eruption in Waikanda Crescent which decimated multiple units, injured six people and extensively damaged dozens of neighbouring properties.
Rescuers left no debris unturned on Sunday as they desperately – but methodically – sifted through the ruins of the Department of Housing building.
Mercy, who kept a vigil across the street with a close eye on the search effort, told neighbours she had reported the smell of gas in the building and in the street, along with multiple other residents who had become aware of it in recent weeks and months.
“She was distraught … we sat with her for a bit, she had no one else until her brothers came … she kept saying ‘I told them about the gas, I told them,” a neighbour Anna Jean said.
One local woman, Amy, was in Waikanda Crescent soon after the 1pm explosion, when Mercy arrived back from the shops to her home resembling a war zone, and her daughter missing.
“She kept dialling her daughter’s number, but there was nothing,” Amy, said. “Then she told the police her daughter was meant to be at Volcano’s steak restaurant at Wetherill Park … so they police rang there and they said she hadn’t turned up, so we knew she must be under there.”
A staff member at the restaurant confirmed Jasmin was due to start work as a shift supervisor from 3pm, but did not arrive.
Another resident Evelyn sat with Jasmin’s mother throughout the night and comforted her while she waited for news from the search site.
“She was soaking wet, so I got her a warm jumper and a blanket. She kept saying ‘my daughter’s strong, my daughter’s strong’, so I kept telling her to keep believing that and have faith in that,” Evelyn said.
Bob Howard, whose home is just metres from where the blast happened, ran to try and help but said he was forced back by the smell of gas.
“I could hear someone saying ‘help me, help me’, but I can’t say for sure where it was coming from, there were that many people around. But then I screamed out to people ‘We have to get out of here, that gas smell is so strong, we could all go’,” Mr Howard said.
A woman who was in the building when it blew up, but escaped without injury, recalled the moment the ‘loud bang’ happened.
“I was checking on the washing … next thing I couldn’t get out. The stairwell was gone … my neighbour’s home was gone,” Carol said.
Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell said the exact cause of the explosion was still under investigation.
A police sniffer dog was used to search for survivors before a crane was brought in to lift the cement slab so further searches could be carried out.
Commissioner Fewtrell said there had been early reports of ‘tapping’ from beneath the rubble, but nothing heard by search parties since.
“Some of those reports of tapping was a little bit unconfirmed yesterday, it’s certainly a key part of operations process to be attuned to any noises,” he said.
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Originally published as Floral tributes as body found in search for young nurse Jasmin Mhey in rubble of Whalan unit block
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