Two men arrested for arson
An explosion at a block of flats in east London led to several people being injured.
Over 70 firefighters and ambulance crews dealt with the blast at a ground floor flat in Ardleigh Green Road, Hornchurch yesterday evening.
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of arson and homes have been evacuated as part of the building collapsed.
#Hornchurchsmoke spreading pic.twitter.com/HhnWS792sF
— ajax jones (@ajaxjones) 23 January 2017
A police statement, issued just before 7pm, said: “Officers, the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service are currently at the scene.
“Two people are currently being treated at the scene. One person presented themselves at an east London hospital with injuries.
“We await an update on their conditions.At this early stage officers are unable to confirm the cause of the explosion but enquires are underway.
“London Fire Brigade are also on scene. Residents are in the process of being evacuated from the building. The local authority has been informed.
“Local road closures are in place. Motorists and pedestrians are advised to avoid the area.”
A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “We were called just before 5.15pm to reports of an incident at Southend Arterial Road, Hornchurch.
“We sent a number of resources to the scene including three ambulance crews, our Hazardous Area Response Team, a single responder in a car and a duty manager. The first of our medics arrived in under five minutes.
“We have now treated four patients at the scene and taken them all to hospital. We remain on scene.”
Leave a Comment