Five rushed to hospital after 'petrol bomb' attack on Indian restaurant

Five people have been rescued from a blaze at a restaurant in east London and taken to hospital. Police, paramedics and firefighters were called to the fire in Woodford Avenue, Gants Hill, at about 9pm on Friday.

London Fire Brigade said part of the ground floor was damaged by the flames and confirmed firefighters rescued five people from the eatery. Nine others managed to escape beforehand. Scotland Yard said of the three women and two men injured, three are in a life-threatening condition.

The five were treated for burns and smoke inhalation, with two of them taken to a major trauma centre and three to local hospitals, according to London Ambulance Service.

The cause of the blaze is being investigated by firefighters and the Metropolitan Police. Unconfirmed reports circulating on social media claim a petrol bomb was thrown into the restaurant.

Footage which purports to be of the fire shows a person on fire rushing out of the building. Video reportedly from inside shows staff and diners moments before the suspected arson attack. The footage has not been independently verified by the Express.

Det Ch Insp Mark Rogers from the Met's Central Specialist Crime North unit, said: "We understand this incident will cause concern within the community. My team of specialist detectives are working at speed to piece the incident together.

"Locals can expect to see a large police presence in the area. If you have any concerns, please speak to those officers on the ground."

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said the service was called at 9.02pm to reports of a fire. They said: "Part of the ground floor restaurant was damaged by fire.

"Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus rescued five people from the restaurant. They were all taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service. Around nine further people were able to leave the restaurant before firefighters arrived."

The spokesperson said the Brigade's control officers received seven calls about the fire and sent crews from Ilford, Hainault, Leytonstone and Woodford fire stations. The fire was out by 10.32pm.

Scotland Yard said there haven't been any arrests so far and detectives are treating the case as a suspected arson attack.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who is the MP for Ilford North, posted on X saying: "Huge thanks to metpoliceuk LondonFire Ldn-Ambulance for their response to a serious incident on Gants Hill/Woodford Avenue this evening.

"Please avoid the area for now. Further updates will follow from RedbridgeLive and emergency services."

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Met via 101, quoting 7559/22AUG. If you wish to remain anonymous, please speak with Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Hospital porter, Edward Thawe, 43, stepped outside his nearby home with his son, 12, to see if he could help after hearing screaming.

The police and ambulance were already at the scene which Mr Thawe described as "horrible" and "more than scary and the sort of thing that you don't want to look at twice".

He said: "I heard screaming and people saying they had called the police. I came outside (the shop) and there was a man with his skin peeled off. His skin was burnt. I did not want to look at it."

He said he thought the man, and a woman who was also outside, may have been customers, adding his "whole body" was burnt including his shirt, but he was still wearing his trousers.

Uniformed officers guarded the police cordon in place on Saturday as forensic officers in protective clothing examined the scene.

The taped cordon stretched from outside the shop on local high street which faces on to a busy main road and on to the pavement.

A trail of what appeared to be bloodstained footsteps along the pavement was spotted by a forensic officer. A number of items were also bagged up in clear plastic carriers.