Tributes have been paid to victims of a fire in which five people from the same family died in west London at the weekend.
Ten fire engines and about 70 firefighters were called to the blaze in Channel Close, Hounslow, at 10.26pm on Sunday, London fire brigade said.
The adults living at the house have been named locally as Aroen Kishen and his wife, Seema, and their children were named in a school tribute as Riyan, Shanaya and Arohi.
One man, believed to be Kishen, left the property before emergency crews arrived and was later taken to hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. The Metropolitan police said three children were thought to have died in the blaze and that the dead were all believed to have been members of the same family.
Bunches of flowers for the children were placed at the scene on Tuesday on behalf of Springwell school. Notes attached to the flowers read: “Rest in peace sweet child.”
A tribute left on behalf of a Mrs Sheldon said: “Words cannot even begin to express our sorrow at hearing the loss of three beautiful souls. Forever in our hearts! Good night and God bless.”
Another tribute left on behalf of year 6 read: “Dear Riyan. I am so sorry that this has happened to you. All crying today and missing you today. You are still part of our family. We will never forget you, and you will always be in our hearts. May God grant you eternal life in heaven.”
The ground floor and first floor of the mid-terrace 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.
Ch Supt Sean Wilson, of the Met, was asked at a press conference on Monday if he could rule out fireworks as a possible cause of the fire, and replied: “At this stage, this is being investigated both by ourselves and specialist fire officers.”
A reduced cordon remained in place around the house on Tuesday and no arrests have been made. Neighbours described seeing smoke and were unsure if it was related to Diwali fireworks.
Rafiah Dhillon, 56, who lives less than 50 metres from the burnt house, told the PA news agency: “I came home at around midnight on Sunday. When the police escorted me into my home, the house was still ablaze and there was lots of smoke.”
