London [UK], November 14: Five members of a family, including three children, have died following a fire at a house in west London.
Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters were called to the blaze in Channel Close, Hounslow, at 10:26 pm (2226 GMT) on Sunday, London Fire Brigade said.
The ground floor and first floors of the mid-terraced house were destroyed by the fire and part of the roof was also damaged.
Five people on the first floor of the building were pronounced dead at the scene, the brigade said.
The Metropolitan Police said three children were thought to have died in the blaze and that those killed were all believed to be members of the same family.
One man left the property before emergency crews arrived and was later taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. One person remained unaccounted for.
Residents from the area described seeing smoke on Sunday evening, but were unsure if it was related to Diwali fireworks.
Flowers were left at the scene on Monday afternoon, and the police cordon was still in place.
Dileep Singh, 54, raced from Manchester to Channel Close where his brother-in-law was at home with his wife, three children and two adult guests.
He told the Evening Standard: "I received a call and came as soon as I could with my wife, we are desperate for information. My brother-in-law is alive but I don't know what has happened to everyone else.
The Met said the cause of the fire was under investigation, but that no arrests had been made.
Speaking at a press conference at the scene, Chief Superintendent Sean Wilson, when asked if he could rule out fireworks as a possible cause of the fatal blaze, said: "At this stage, this is being investigated both by ourselves and specialist fire officers.
"I am not ruling anything out, I don't think we are in a position to do that.
"We keep an open mind, it is such an early stage and there is an awful lot of work to be done."
Nick Marbrow, who lives on Sutton Road, with a view towards the burned-out house from his home, said he noticed an "unusual amount of smoke" on Sunday evening.
He said: "When I went to bed last night, I could see a lot of smoke.
"I could see an unusual amount of smoke, but then it is Diwali, there were fireworks going off.
"It's very unusual for this area, it's safe around here." Ashish Sosniah, who was passing the street on his way to temple, said he saw fireworks going off "for an hour" between 8 pm and 9 pm.
He said: "There were lots of fireworks going off for Diwali. I could see white smoke." Sosniah said that when he next passed at around 11:30 pm there were emergency services at the scene.
London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe 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 today 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." Nearby homes were evacuated during the blaze, which was brought under control by 1:25 am on Monday.
Source: Qatar Tribune