Boy, 16, arrested on suspicion of murder after girl, 14, killed in fire at block of flats

The fire in Beckton, Newham, is being treated as an arson

Firefighters were called to the blaze in Tollgate Road in Beckton, Newham, on Thursday evening.

The Metropolitan Police said the fire is being treated as arson.

The force said a 14-year-old girl died and five other people at the address were injured.

The other victims' injuries are not life-threatening and they have since been discharged from hospital, the Met said.

London Fire Brigade (LFB) said the girl who died was found in a second-floor flat and was pronounced dead at the scene.

A spokesperson for LFB said: “The stairwell from the ground floor to the second floor of a residential block was destroyed by fire. Half of the second floor was also damaged by the blaze.”

The Mirror said eyewitnesses described seeing people fleeing the fire jump onto a discarded mattress on the ground in a desperate bid to escape.

MyLondon reported that the victim was named locally as Tiffany as many shared tributes online. A man believed to be her father wrote online: "Tiffany was a beautiful person inside and out. She was funny and loving. Thank you for the comments for our daughter. Rip my baby girl, daddy loves you."

Related links

Boy, 12, charged with murder after woman hit with car

Boy, 12, arrested on suspicion of murder after woman hit by car

Eight women among 21 members of child sex ring convicted for ‘abhorrent and cruel’ abuse of kids

Phillip Schofield’s brother found guilty of sexually abusing boy over three years