Police officer rushed to hospital after being hit by explosion when they entered a flat
Police officer rushed to hospital after being hit by explosion when they entered a flat which had been set on fire
- Scotland Yard said officers were called to the scene around 1.30pm on Friday
- They came in response to an incident at Batavia Mews, in New Cross earlier
- But as officers entered the building, they heard an explosion, injuring one
- A 40-year-old man has been arrested at the scene on suspicion of arson
- Video of the aftermath was shared to social media showing smoke billowing from a top-floor window, and a clotheless man sitting on a nearby roof
A police officer was rushed to hospital with burn injuries after a blaze tore through a flat in south-east London following an explosion.
Scotland Yard said that officers were called at around 1.30pm on Friday in response to an incident at Batavia Mews, in New Cross, earlier that morning.
But as officers entered the building they heard an explosion.
A police officer was taken to hospital with burn injuries after a blaze tore through a flat in south-east London. Pictured: Smoke bellows from a top-floor flat on Friday
Firefighters and ambulances were called and a fire was discovered at a flat above a shop.
An officer was burned during the incident and was taken to a hospital, but her injuries are currently thought to be non-life-threatening, police said.
The force also said that a 40-year-old man had been arrested at the scene on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and grievous bodily harm and taken to a south London police station.
The incident is not thought to be terror-related, it added.
A video shared on social media of what was reportedly the aftermath of the incident showed smoke coming from a top-floor window.
Further down the building, a clotheless man is shown sitting on another roof, with police seemingly waiting on ground-level to arrest him.
Pictures later showed what appeared to be the same man – now wearing shorts – being loaded into a police van by police officers.
A video shared on social media of what was reportedly the aftermath of the incident showed smoke coming from a top-floor window. Further down the building, a clotheless man is shown sitting on another roof, with police seemingly waiting on ground-level to arrest him. Pictures later showed what appeared to be the same man – now wearing shorts – being guided into a police van by police officers.
The London Fire Brigade said that four fire engines and around 25 firefighters battled the blaze, which destroyed most of a five-roomed flat on the third floor of the building
The man has not been identified, and it is unclear if he was involved in the explosion, although it appeared from the video that he could have climbed across the rooftops from the window where the smoke was coming from.
The London Fire Brigade said that four fire engines and around 25 firefighters battled the blaze, which destroyed most of a five-roomed flat on the third floor of the building.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Met Police and London Fire Brigade, it added.
The force also said that a 40-year-old man had been arrested at the scene on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and grievous bodily harm and taken to a south London police station
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said they had been called at 1:36 pm on Friday to the scene in New Cross, according to My London.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Lewisham told the outlet that their officers were called at around 1:32 pm, and heard the explosion shortly after arriving.
The London Fire Brigade added: ‘One officer has sustained burn injuries and has been taken to a hospital in south London. Her injuries are currently thought to be non-life-threatening.’
