Harrowing escape for teen after townhouse next door explodes
A young woman narrowly escaped with her life after she became trapped under a roof when the townhouse next door exploded. The explosion happened just hours after her neighbour made a series of chilling Facebook posts.
Police & Courts
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A young woman narrowly escaped with her life after she became trapped under a roof when the townhouse next door to her home exploded.
Poppy, 19, was in the loungeroom of her Murrumba Downs townhouse last Wednesday when the house next door blew up.
Just hours before the home erupted the owner, Garry Maidment, made chilling Facebook posts referencing his own funeral, revealing mortgage stress and blasting the Reserve Bank.
Gas bottles were found in the rubble alongside human remains.
Police have been unable to account for Mr Maidment since the explosion. Forensic investigations are ongoing.
A GoFundMe set up on behalf of Poppy, her mother Rae and her brother Max revealed terrifying new details of the moment Poppy became trapped when her roof fell on top of her.
“Thankfully, Poppy was able to escape and survived the ordeal physically unharmed,” GoFundMe organiser Alana Johnson wrote.
“However, the traumatic experience has understandably left her deeply affected.
“Their beloved dog, Honey, and the guinea pigs were fortunately rescued by a kind-hearted neighbour.
“Regrettably, their cherished cats are still missing, likely having fled during the chaos.”
The family’s townhouse was “significantly damaged” in the explosion.
“The damage sustained by the townhouse is irreparable, rendering it uninhabitable, and will be demolished,” Ms Johnson claimed.
“The financial burden they now face is immense, encompassing not only the need for a new place to call home but also the necessities that come with starting afresh.
“Rae does not have contents insurance, and no support is available to her given the nature of the event.”
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