Mother and five children killed in Neasden house fire

Mother and five children killed in Neasden house fire



The BBC's Helena Lee spoke to Glen Gorman from the London Fire Brigade at the scene of the fire

A mother and five of her children have been killed in a house fire in north-west London.

Flames ripped through the semi-detached house in Sonia Gardens, Neasden, as six fire engines and 30 firefighters tackled the blaze at about 01:00 BST.

A 41-year-old woman and children aged two, five, nine, 13 and 14 died. The 51-year-old father and a 16-year-old daughter are being treated in hospital.

London Fire Brigade and the Met Police are investigating the cause.

The two and five-year-olds who died were boys, and the older children who died were girls. The 16-year-old girl is in a critical condition, and the father is said to be "stable".'Like a bomb'

One neighbour said he heard a loud bang "like an explosion, almost like a bomb".

He added: "We all went outside and we saw firemen looking out the window and shouting, 'there's people in there'. It was horrific."

BBC correspondent Ben Ando said it is understood the family are originally from Palestine, and that the cause of fire at this stage is not believed to be suspicious.

LFB station manager Glen Gorman, who was at the scene, said: "There's no doubt this is an absolute tragedy.
A five-year-old boy died after suffering a cardiac arrest

"My thoughts, and those of my colleagues at the London Fire Brigade, are with the friends, family and loved ones of those affected at this extremely sad and difficult time."

He added: "Crews worked extremely hard in some very, very, difficult conditions and were able to prevent fire spreading to adjoining properties and causing further injuries or even further tragedy."

A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: "We sent the air ambulance doctor in a car, four ambulance crews and a hazardous area response team.

"Sadly four youngsters and an adult were dead at the scene.Badly damaged

"Our staff treated a five-year-old boy in cardiac arrest but despite extensive efforts they were unable to resuscitate him."

Firefighters from Willesden, West Hampstead, North Kensington and Park Royal fire stations were at the scene.

The service was alerted by a 999 call at 00:50 BST and the fire was under control by 02:50 BST. The ground floor and first floor of the two-storey house were badly damaged.

Post-mortem examinations are due to take place later.

A police spokesman said: "We are working with the fire brigade to establish the circumstances of the fire but it is currently being treated as unexplained."



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