Police have named five of the people who died in yesterday’s tower block blaze, including a newborn baby and her mother.
Three-week-old Michelle Udoaka and her mother Helen Udoaka, 34, three-year-old Filipe Francisquini, Dayana Francisquini, 26, and Catherine Hickman, 31, were killed by the fire in Camberwell, South London.
An, as-yet, unnamed four-year-old girl also died, along with Ms Udoaka and Ms Hickman, at the scene of the blaze.
The Francisquinis and baby Michelle were rescued from the burning building, but later pronounced dead at hospital.
London Metropolitan Police said they were treating the cause of the fire as ‘suspicious'.
The Met had waited until the next of kin were notified before naming the victims and are still trying to confirm the identity of the four-year-old.
The fire broke out in a fourth floor flat of the 12-storey Lakanal flats at 4.20pm yesterday afternoon.
Yesterday’s hot weather and fact there were so many open windows in the block, helped the fire spread quickly upwards to the 11th floor, trapping around 30 people.
More than 100 firefighters were called in to tackle the blaze and rescue those inside, while sixteen ambulances stood by.
Fifteen people, many of them suffering from smoke inhalation, were taken to three London hospitals — King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, and Lewisham Hospital.
A Met spokesman said: "Fifteen people were taken to various south London hospitals.
"Three people died in hospital and a further three people were pronounced dead at the scene
"A firefighter remains in hospital, where his condition is not life threatening. The remaining eleven people have been discharged."
SOURCE:THE TIMES
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