Girl, 11, dies and block of flats evacuated after they’re exposed to ‘chemicals’
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An 11-year-old girl has died and three others are in hospital after ‘pest control chemicals’ were found in a block of flats in London.
On Saturday afternoon at around 4:15pm, there were reports of an unresponsive girl at the Nida House flats on Sutton Street, with emergency services rushing her to hospital where she tragically passed away a short time later, MyLondon reports.
After an evacuation, the London Fire Brigade swept the building and discovered a 'quantity of chemicals' believed to be used for pest control.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said they will be safely removed and an investigation will be carried out to find out how they came to be in the building.
The 11-year-old girl's death is being treated as unexplained and the Met said a special post-mortem examination will be scheduled in due course.
A resident of the block of flats described the worrying scenes he saw yesterday afternoon.
Toni Santos Babi told MyLondon how firefighters came into his flat to measure the levels of chemicals and found a higher number in the toilet.
He was then asked to evacuate the building and is currently staying in a hotel.
He said: “Around 5pm firefighters came into my flat to measure levels of some chemicals and they found a higher number in the toilet.
“In the meantime, more police were coming and they closed the whole road. Then another team of medical came to re-measure the chemical level, and around 7:30pm they told us to evacuate ASAP.
“Around 2am they started transporting us to a near hotel. They just told us that we’re staying here two more days, and they are providing food.
“I and my flatmates smelled a strange smell in our flat, and I had a headache, and they had a cough/throat ache for the last two days. But we’re not sure if it’s related.”
Rabina Khan, Liberal Democrat councillor for Shadwell ward, said she had been at the scene since Saturday night, comforting residents.
She said: “I've been here since last night and I've been calming people down. We have to leave the investigation to the professionals and avoid any conspiracy theories.
“It's such a tragic incident since an 11-year-old girl has died and I've had to comfort residents. It's definitely had an impact on me too, as I have children of my own.”
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Apsana Begum, MP for Poplar and Limehouse, offered her sympathies to the young girl's family.
She tweeted: “Tragically this has resulted in one fatality of a young girl, from chemicals found within the building. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her loved ones.”
John Biggs, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, described the situation as a “terrible tragedy” and vowed to support the families of those involved.
He said: “My thoughts and those of TH Councillors are with the family and others in Sutton Street following the chemical incident in Nida House, E1, in which a young girl lost her life, others evacuated with some in hospital.
“We will support the families. A terrible tragedy.”
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