Shock details emerge after trainee nurse Mhey Yumol Jasmin was killed in Whalan townhouse explosion

Residents of a townhouse destroyed by an explosion complained about two gas leaks just months before a trainee nurse was killed in the blast.

The explosion erupted on the second floor of a housing commission home on Waikanda Crescent in Whalan, in Sydney’s west, about 1pm on Saturday.

The body of Mhey Yumol Jasmin, 30, was recovered from the kitchen at around 2.20pm on Monday after machines were called in to lift heavy debris.

It has been revealed that tenants have complained to the Ministry of Housing about the smell of gas twice in the last 12 months, most recently in April.

The department claims that in both cases, contractors were immediately sent to the home and repaired broken gas meters.

The body of nurse Mhey Yumol Jasmin, 30, was recovered from the kitchen at around 2.20pm on Monday after machines were called in to lift heavy debris.

The explosion erupted on the second floor of a housing commission home on Waikanda Crescent in Whalan, in Sydney’s west, about 1pm on Saturday.

In November, a resident reported smelling gas while the supplier visited the home and repaired a broken gas meter.

Five months later, a tenant reported another gas smell and a maintenance company responded to an ‘urgent work order’.

Contractors discovered that the gas meter connection was cracked and the part was replaced.

NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson said the previous gas leaks were being urgently investigated with the department to check maintenance logs.

“I am deeply concerned to hear reports from residents who have reportedly raised the issue of gas odors over the past 12 months,” she said.

Homes NSW is currently compiling a summary of work applications made for social housing over the past five years.

Rescue efforts were hampered after a leak at the site following the explosion, prompting investigators to investigate whether a gas leak played a role in the blast.

Tenants of the home have complained about the gas smell to the Department of Housing twice in the past 12 months, most recently in April (photo, first responders on scene)

The massive explosion was heard blocks away and shattered the glass of neighboring buildings. Five other people were rushed to hospital.

Another 12 people from surrounding homes were evacuated, with houses and apartment buildings damaged.

Police Commissioner Trent King said the majority of tenants involved in the explosion were under state care.

Ms Mhey had been on the property to visit her mother, Mercy, who had ducked out and returned to find her building completely destroyed.

The nurse was discovered in the kitchen after cranes were used to remove concrete slabs from the first floor.

Rescuers were then lifted into the house in a metal cage and used drills and cameras to look for voids and air bubbles in the rubble.

Ms Mhey’s body was discovered under the rubble by search teams.

Chief Inspector Darren Newman said her mother was ‘devastated’.

“Obviously we had to deliver a death message,” he said, adding that the scene had been “confronting” and “difficult” for first responders.

Homes NSW is currently compiling a list of work requests made for the social housing building over the past five years (pictured)

Ms Mhey’s mother kept a close eye on the search efforts across the street before collapsing as she returned to the house.

“She (the mother) was on her hands and knees screaming for her daughter,” a neighbor said.

“She didn’t want to leave, she sat here all night in the rain and the cold and said she wouldn’t leave until her daughter was gone.”

Emergency services braved heavy rain and cold and worked through Saturday night in an attempt to find the woman trapped under the rubble.

The house had ‘major damage’ and a neighboring house was also affected.

Whalan resident Kathleen Morris said the sound of the explosion was tremendous.

‘I heard a big bang and the whole house shook. “Everyone came out of the house wondering what happened,” she said.