A 15-year-old boy and 54-year-old man have been arrested after a fire at an Indian restaurant in London that was described as a ‘Halloween scene’.
Three women and two men were injured in the suspected arson attack on Indian Aroma in Ilford on Friday evening.
Two of them – a man and a woman – remain in a life-threatening condition.
The Metropolitan Police made the arrests earlier today, saying that the boy and the man are suspected of arson with intent to endanger life.
Detective chief inspector Mark Rogers said: ‘While two arrests have been made, our investigation continues at pace so we can piece together what happened on Friday evening.
‘I know the community are concerned and shocked by this incident. I would urge anyone with any information or concerns to come forward and speak to police.’
CCTV footage seen by the PA news agency appears to show a group of people with their faces covered walk into the restaurant before dousing the floor with liquid.
Seconds later, the inside of Indian Aroma is engulfed in flames.
Part of the ground floor was damaged by the fire, and crews rescued five people trapped inside Indian Aroma.
Nine others managed to escape before the firefighters arrived, the London Fire Brigade said.
Hospital porter Edward Thawe, who witnessed the fire, said he saw a man whose whole body was burnt and skin was ‘peeling off’.
The 43-year-old left his nearby home with his 12-year-old son after hearing the shrieks from the restaurant.
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The police and ambulance were already at the ‘horrible’ scene, which the dad said was ‘more than scary and the sort of thing that you don’t want to look at twice’.
He added: ‘I heard screaming and people saying they had called the police. I came outside (the shop) and there was a man with his skin peeled off.’
Sayed Bokhari said he had spoken to the manager of the restaurant who was ‘crying’ and was ‘extremely scared’.
The 39-year-old added: ‘It’s awful and it’s very scary. It looked like a scene from Halloween.’
Referring to one of the injured men, he said: ‘It was a serious, dramatic thing and people were running around him.’
Mr Bokhari, who has run a business in the area for 15 years, said: ‘It is scary because we run retail stores which are welcoming customers in.
‘The doors are open like the doors of your house. We cannot body check everyone to see if they are safe. There is only so much that high street security can do.
‘It is scary. You are worried for people. You are worried about your business. London is not such a fun place any more.’
The police investigation is continuing.
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