Worksop father 'suffocated in debris' after house explosion
A Worksop father who died after a house exploded suffocated in the rubble, an inquest has heard.
Officers recovered the body of 53-year-old David Howard from under debris following the blast at the property in John Street, Worksop, on April 12 .
An inquest at Nottingham Coroner's Court on Friday (June 27) heard a post-mortem examination was carried out, with a provisional cause of death recorded as "positional asphyxia whilst entrapped beneath collapsed building debris".
The hearing was adjourned as a police investigation into a gas leak remains ongoing.
Mairin Casey, senior coroner for Nottinghamshire, said the inquest would resume at a later date as "this case remains subject to a criminal investigation".
She also offered "sincere condolences" to Mr Howard's family.
A man who was arrested on suspicion of murder after the explosion was released with no further action on June 18 after the police investigation found no evidence of any third-party involvement in Mr Howard’s death.
Emergency services were called to John Street, Worksop, at 7.39pm on April 12 after an explosion inside a house and a major incident was declared.
Despite the best efforts of the responding emergency services, 53-year-old David Howard died at the scene.
Around 50 people from 35 properties were evacuated and one other person was taken to hospital with minor injuries following the blast.
Nearby homes and cars were damaged by the blast, with 14 households being unable to their homes due to the police cordon.
Officers are continuing to investigate the cause of the explosion.