A second child has died after five people were taken to hospital following a house fire in east London.
Those involved are believed to be members of the same family who all lived at the address on Napier Road in East Ham. Six fire engines and about 40 firefighters were called to the fire just before 8.30am on Saturday, the London fire brigade (LFB) said.
One child died at the scene that morning, while the second child died overnight in hospital, the fire brigade added. Four other people – two adults and two children – were still in hospital. One of the children was in a critical condition.
One neighbour said he had thrown bricks to try to break the windows so the family could escape.
Shah, 37, said: “Someone threw the big brick, the full brick, at the window but couldn’t break it. And the half brick, I hold in my hand, I threw it … to help the family because the mum – she was by the window.”
He added: “The dad, he came through the roof – after five, 10 minutes we saw on the corner the children came. We saw the police running up and giving them CPR.”
The LFB assistant commissioner Patrick Goulbourne said: “This is a terribly sad incident and the thoughts of all of us at London fire brigade are with the family, friends and all those affected at this difficult time.
“Staff will be in the local community over the coming days to offer support and advice where needed. The welfare of our staff is very important and all those involved will be offered support from our counselling and trauma service.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation.