UK
Hounslow house fire: Tributes paid to ‘beautiful souls’ after five killed in west London blaze
Tributes have been paid to a family killed in a blaze in west London.
Five people died in the house fire on Sunday night including Seema Ratra and her three young children named in a tribute from their school as Riyan, Shanaya and Arohi.
Their father, Aroen Kishen, left the house before emergency services arrived and was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. One person remains unaccounted for.
The fire was at a house in Channel Close, Hounslow, west London
Individual bunches of flowers for the three children were placed at the scene on Tuesday on behalf of Springwell School in Hounslow. Tributes attached to the flowers read: “Rest in peace sweet child.”
Another, 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 at the scene from “year 6” said: “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.”
Flowers have been placed at the scene
Devastated family members had attended the scene, many of them too distressed to speak.
Rafiah Dhillon, who lives nearby, said the family always kept a “beautiful garden”.
The nurse said: “My son is partially sighted so we walk him around the block every day and we used to go past their house.
“I didn’t know the family but they always had a beautiful garden with lots of flowers and a nice bench outside. It was lovely to walk past.”
She said they saw the fire and “lots of smoke”. “It was very scary. I couldn’t sleep and I didn’t want to look away.”
Around 70 firefighters battled the blaze until the early hours of Monday morning. It destroyed two floors and also damaged the roof of the property.
Residents from the area described seeing smoke on Sunday evening, but were unsure if it was related to Diwali celebrations involving fireworks.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire. There have been no arrests.
Chief Superintendent Sean Wilson, when asked if he could rule out fireworks as a possible cause, said at the scene on Monday: “At this stage, this is being investigated both by ourselves and specialist fire officers.
“I am not ruling anything out, I don’t think we are in a position to do that.
“We keep an open mind, it is such an early stage and there is an awful lot of work to be done.”
A police cordon remains in place around the house.