World

Fire in Lakanal House in London: 6 dead and 25 Trapped

by Amy Judd | July 3, 2009 at 11:33 am

1980 views | 18 Recommendations | 1 comment

A fire broke out in Lakanal House on the Sceaux Gardens Estate in Camberwell, a borough of London, and three children and three women died and at one point, 25 people were trapped inside the 12-storey building.

Two of the children were a three-week old baby and a seven-year-old child.

There is an investigation going on into the cause of the fire.

Previous reporting:

Firefighters are currently on scene and thriteen people had to be taken to hospital. The fire is now under control.

Eighteen fire engines responded to the blaze when the call came in at 15:20 London time. It started on the fourth floor and spread quickly to the rest of the building. It took four hours to get the fire under control.

BBC correspondent Sarah Harris reported from the scene that two children had died.

An LFB spokesman said that the "serious" fire was believed to be in the communal areas between floors four and 11.

"A number of rescues have been carried out in extremely difficult circumstances and fire crews equipped with extended duration breathing apparatus are working very hard to reach those still affected and carry out an exhaustive search of the building," he added.

A London Ambulance spokesman said: "We have treated 10 patients who have all been taken to hospital.

"Seven of these are understood to have been suffering from smoke inhalation, while the other three were in a serious condition."