Three men have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and the production of cannabis following a house explosion in Newcastle which killed two people, including a seven-year-old boy, police said.
Archie York and Jason Laws, who was in his 30s, were killed following the incident at Violet Close, in the Benwell and Elswick area of the city in October.
Two men in their 30s and a man in his 50s were arrested on suspicion of two counts of manslaughter and production of the Class B drug cannabis, Northumbria Police said.
All three men remain in police custody at this time.
Detective Chief Inspector Katie Smith said: “This has been a truly tragic incident which resulted in the loss of two lives.
“As a result of our ongoing enquiries, three men have today been arrested in connection with the explosion.
“Our investigation will remain ongoing as we seek to provide answers to what has happened.
“We would continue to ask people to avoid speculation surrounding this incident both online and in the community.”
In the early hours of Oct 16, a row of three council-owned properties was wrecked by a blast that killed two people and injured six more. The cause of the blast has yet to be established, but specialist gas engineers were sent to the scene.
A neighbour said at the time that a woman had complained to Newcastle city council about her boiler being faulty just two days before the explosion.
Archie was pronounced dead at the scene and a second body was found in the rubble the next day.
Abbie York previously paid tribute to her seven-year-old nephew on social media as the “most beautiful, funny and caring little boy”.
She said: “Archie’s life was so tragically snatched from him in the early hours of the morning in the explosion in Benwell. My family are all so truly devastated and heartbroken beyond words by this and we would respect privacy at this time.
“Archie was my nephew and the most beautiful, funny, and caring little boy. His name deserves to be shouted from the rooftops! We all love you so much little man, you didn’t deserve this.”
