Six dead as flames engulf high-rise in south London (Roundup)

Jul 4, 2009, 12:16 GMT

A general view of the aftermath of a fire in Camberwell, south London, Britain, 03 July 2009. EPA

London - Six people including a three-week-old baby and two children died late Friday in a blaze that struck a 12-storey apartment house in south London, while 30 more were rescued or escaped the rapidly spreading flames in dramatic circumstances.

Police were probing the cause. 'We would always treat a situation like this as suspicious because we don't know the cause in the first instance,' Chief Superintendant Wayne Chance told the BBC.

Residents were not being allowed back as the building was being treated as a crime scene. Of the rescued, including several children, half were taken to hospital, most suffering from smoke inhalation.

The cause of the fire, which broke out in the stairwell between the fourth and 11th floor, could take weeks to establish, police said. It took 100 firefighters several hours to control the blaze.

Witnesses said children were seen desperately hammering on windows and people had been knotting sheets preparing to escape as the flames spread, sending up smoke visible miles away.

One of those who escaped, 28-year-old Nany Kanu who lives on the fifth floor said: 'We were really scared because we couldn't walk - we were crawling through the smoke.'

Seasoned firemen said they were surprised at the speed at which the flames spread. One, Paul Glenny, said: 'I've been in the job for 30 years, and I've never seen anything like it. The hot weather and the fact that people's windows were open made the fire what it was.'

One woman resident who declined to be named said the ageing building was a 'death trap' which should have been pulled down long ago.

Another resident, 37-year-old Ed Hammond who lives in the seventh floor, said: 'If fire breaks out in the middle of the building, there's practically no hope of escape.'