Hampstead fire: Woman killed in flats blaze as 20 people forced to flee homes

A woman has died after a blaze erupted at a block of flats in north London early on Tuesday.

Around 60 firefighters tackled the fire at a four-storey building in Daleham Gardens, Hampstead, that caused another 20 people to flee their homes.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said a woman was rescued from the building but was pronounced dead at the scene.

It said the blaze had been brought under control by 5am, but crews were still damping down the scene. 

The block's first, second and third floors, as well as the roof, had been affected by the fire, said the brigade, which sent eight fire engines to the scene.

The alarm was raised at 1.52am on Tuesday and around 20 people had fled the building before crews arrived.

Crews in eight fire engines, along with an aerial appliance, were sent to the scene.

Pictures posted on social media showed flames leaping from the building's roof, the whole of which was damaged.

A brigade spokesman said: "Crews rescued a woman from the building but sadly she was pronounced dead at the scene. Around 20 people left the flats before the brigade arrived."

The fire was brought under control by 5am, although firefighters remained at the scene and motorists were advised to avoid the area.

Fire fighters could be seen on the roof of the block of flats at 7.30am, a column of smoke still rising past them.

The roof of the building had been completely ravaged by the overnight blaze, leaving only blackened fragments jutting out.

Firefighters surveyed the scene of the fire from an extendable platform attached to a crane.

One window of the building, which appeared to have been opened, had also been left black.

Hoses snaked up nearby Akenside Road through several lines of police cordons which separate the surrounding streets from the scene of the blaze.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

The blaze comes five months after London was left shocked by the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 71 people.