Six people die in London blaze

By Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) - A three-week-old baby and two children were among six people killed when a fire tore through a 12-storey block of flats in southeast London on Friday, emergency services said.

The blaze broke out at on the fourth floor of the flats on the Sceaux Gardens Estate in Camberwell and rapidly spread, the London Fire Brigade said.

Eighteen fire engines were sent to the scene and more than 100 firefighters tackled the fire. A brigade spokesman said the blaze swept up to the 11th floor and 30 people had to be rescued.

Police said the baby, a seven-year-old child and a woman died in hospital. A child, aged about 6, a woman and another adult died at the flats.

Paul Woodrow, of the London Ambulance Service, told Sky News 18 people, including 11 children, had been taken to hospital. Some were in a serious condition.

The fire brigade said that despite extremely difficult conditions, firefighters had rescued everyone else who had been inside and the fire had been brought under control.

"The building is still being searched, but we are confident there won't be any more people involved. We're doing a systematic floor by floor search," he said.

It was too soon to say what caused the fire.