Six killed in London tower block inferno
Updated on 03 July 2009
Three adults and three children, including a three-week-old baby, have been killed in a blaze which swept through a tower block.
London Fire Brigade said it was called around 4.25pm and 100 firefighters and 18 fire engines tackled the fire which engulfed seven floors of the 12-storey Lakanal House, in Havil Street, Camberwell, south London, and at one point trapped around 30 people.
At least 18 people were taken to hospital. Of the six fatalities, one was an infant, one a child of seven years and one an adult woman.
Three other bodies were found at the scene - a six-year-old child, a woman in her 30s and another adult.
A spokeswoman for The Lewisham Hospital, in south London, said: "We've had seven people brought in to the Accident and Emergency department. There are four adults and three children. All the people who have come to Lewisham have non-serious injuries."
A spokesman for King's College Hospital, in Denmark Hill, said: "We had 11 people in total - nine of whom had minor injuries, mostly smoke inhalation. These were three children and six adults. The other two of the 11 sadly died."
George Maddocks, who lives nearby, said: "The fire engines arrived very promptly but I think the height of the block was a problem. There seemed to be one window and one room ablaze when the fire brigade got there."
He added: "Currently it is charred and blackened. It does seem to be under control - but I can only see so much."
And Sarah Gresty, who lives in Havil Street, said she could see a column of flames and smoke in flats going up a number of floors.
"It was very alarming seeing it," she said. "The fire was going in quite a few flats. It was shocking to see the quantities of smoke and flames."
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