A WOMAN injured in a gas explosion in Clacton has died.
Andree Maffey, 80, lived in the ground-floor flat of the converted house in Wellesley Road which was ripped apart by the blast on Monday, April 2.
She suffered serious burns and was taken to Colchester General Hospital before being transferred to the specialist burns unit at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford.
Mrs Maffey, who lived alone, had been described as being in a stable condition on the rehabilitation ward last week.
Laura Sainte Marie, who lived with her family in the first-floor flat above Mrs Maffey, said: “She was a nice woman.
“We have been here for six years, and she was already here when we moved in.
“She never complained if my kids were shouting, and we used to say ‘hello’ and ‘good morning’ to each other. She was very kind. She was such a very nice woman.”
Paul Honeywood, district councillor for the area, said: “It is very sad.
“The explosion was a distressing incident for the people living in and around the house, and it is made so much worse for this news. My thoughts go out to the lady’s family.”
The explosion happened on Monday April 2 at 2.25am.
Five other people were in the building at the time. Laura Sainte Marie, her husand Clarel and their children, Gaelle, nine, and Nigel, four, clambered onto a nearby shed roof for safety.
Kersley Vythilingum, who was on the top floor, was discovered in the rubble by a rescue dog 90 minutes after the explosion.
He was taken to hospital but was discharged, and is staying at Penny Pot care home in Alton Road, Clacton, where he works.
Witnesses said the gas blast sounded like a bomb had gone off.
The house almost completely collapsed. The remainder has since been knocked down.
The cause of the blast is still being investigated.
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