The fire in Beckton, Newham, is being treated as an arson
A 16-year-old boy is being questioned on suspicion of murder over a fire at a block of flats in east London that resulted in the death of a girl, 14.
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.”
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