NEIGHBOURS heard screaming as a woman was killed in a horror blaze that ripped through a block of flats.
The woman, whose age is unknown, died in the inferno in Beckton, East London, after it began at around 5.30pm on Thursday.
Those trapped inside jumped "for their lives" from windows to try to escape, witnesses claimed, and several others were injured in the blaze.
One local told The Sun: “It was absolute chaos yesterday afternoon.
“The screaming was piercing. It was horrific. People were shouting for help and I saw someone jump from the third floor.
"It's horrific."
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Dramatic images show flames leaping from the windows on the third storey, while crews worked to put the blaze out.
The cause of the inferno is unknown, the fire service said.
Forensic teams arrived on the scene on Friday morning and a section of the road was sealed off.
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Raza Nowsin, 26, manager at the Lidl across the road, said he first noticed a "bit of smoke" before watching those inside leap from the building.
He told MyLondon: "One of my colleagues said, ‘call the police’. As soon as I stepped out [of the shop] that’s what I saw - a huge fire.
“It was just on the balcony bits and then the whole house basically. I saw people jumping out the windows from the balcony at the top, people were running around everywhere.
“They had a mattress there and they were trying to jump on it but some people didn’t get to the mattress.”
One witness at the scene added: "I was walking past the building before the fire brigade got there.
"I witnessed a person jumping out of the second floor window because they were trapped, a sight I never thought I would see.
"The thud on the ground was horrific, I really hope he was ok. I could not get near because the smoke was affecting my asthma but he did have people around him and I think he got up off the ground."
Flowers have been placed at the scene of a fatal fire.
Two girls were seen hugging and crying as they left the tributes on the street outside the burnt-out block.
Earlier on Friday morning, two women, a man and a girl were seen placing six bunches of flowers, including roses and lillies, on the pavement next to police tape.
I saw people jumping out the windows from the balcony at the top, people were running around everywhere.
Raza NowsinRokshana Fiaz OBE, the mayor of Newham, posted a tribute on Twitter, saying: "Along with Cabinet member for Community Safety, Cllr Amar Virdee, we are deeply saddened by the news that there has been one fatality already from the fire that broke out in flats in Beckton.
"Our deepest condolences to loved ones now in mourning."
A spokesperson from the London Fire Brigade said: "Sadly, a person has died following a flat fire on Tollgate Road in Beckton yesterday evening.
"The stairwell from the ground floor to the second floor of a residential block was destroyed by fire. Half of the second floor was also damaged by the blaze.
"Firefighters found a person in a second-floor flat who was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. Five further people were taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service crews.
"The Brigade was called at 5.24pm and the fire was under control by 6.33pm.
"Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters from East Ham, Plaistow, Barking and surrounding fire stations attended the scene."
A Met Police spokesperson said: "Police were called at approximately 17:28hrs on Thursday, 6 April to reports of a fire at a block of flats in Tollgate Road, E6.
"Police, LAS and LFB are currently at the scene dealing with the fire.
"It is believed that there has been one fatality and number of others injured. No further details at this stage.
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"Enquiries into the cause of the fire are ongoing. A road closure is in place on Tollgate Road and restriction are in place on Bradley Stone Road and Valiant Way, E6."
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