Two people, including a child believed to be a seven-year-old girl, have died in a house fire in Middlesbrough. Two men, aged 23 and 31, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in police custody.
The fire broke out shortly after 5am on August 26 at an end-of-terrace house on Birchington Avenue, Grangetown. A 48-year-old woman remains in hospital in a critical condition, and three other people suffered injuries described as non-life-threatening. Cleveland Police have confirmed a child died in the tragedy but have not yet confirmed the child's age or gender.
Neighbours describe desperate rescue attempts
Neighbours told how three children were screaming for help from an upstairs window as fire and smoke engulfed the property. It is believed three adults and three children, two aged 15, were in the house when the fire started.
A 20-year-old woman, who gave her name as Ellie, said: "I heard the children screaming, and I just ran down the road shouting for help. Neighbours came out to help. Everyone tried to get them out. I ended up holding the hand of one of the women who got out; she was an older woman. She was just crying and in pain; the ambulance took her away. Two girls jumped out of the bedroom window."
One eyewitness saw a girl, believed to be seven years old, carried out by a firefighter. He said: "I woke up at about 5 a.m. because of the noise from the fire engines. I went out and saw the girl being carried out by a firefighter dressed in an orange uniform. Her body was limp, and it looked to me like she was deceased. I think that she was staying there overnight, and the woman who lived there was her aunt."
Murder investigation and possible links to organised crime
Cleveland Police launched a murder investigation just before midday. Officers confirmed they "cannot rule out any links to wider organised crime at this time" and are not ruling out a possible link between the fire and the A66 crash little more than a mile away that killed seven people.
Redcar and Cleveland Local Policing Commander, Superintendent Emily Harrison, said: "We continue to work to establish the circumstances of exactly what has happened. But are keeping an open mind and cannot rule out any links to wider organised crime at this time."
The property's front first-floor bedroom window was blown out by the heat of the blaze, with the roof heavily damaged and blackened by the smoke. One neighbour added: "Locals are saying that two wheelie bins were left at the front door and set alight. That is the local rumour, but obviously I do not know if that is true or not. Maybe someone was trying to scare them, or it was a prank that went wrong."
A66 crash investigation continues
The Grangetown estate is close to the scene of Sunday's crash between a VW Passat, which was heading the wrong way on the A66 dual carriageway. PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed in the collision. Cole Worthy, 17; Theo Rae, 17; Makai Saddington, 18; and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak were in the Passat and pronounced dead at the scene at South Bank.
Cleveland Police have arrested 17 people following the crash. The Passat had been pursued by police following an earlier incident in which a house in the Acklam area of Middlesbrough, linked to Worthy, was rammed by a vehicle. The pursuit was aborted when the Passat went the wrong way down the A66.
Police have previously said the five young men in the Passat may have had links to "serious and organised criminal activity". Four of the five had criminal convictions and were believed to be associated with another car which was seen ramming properties earlier that morning. The first vehicle, believed to be a Volvo XC60, was witnessed ramming properties in the Middlesbrough area. The second vehicle, a Volkswagen Passat, is believed to have been associated with the activities of the Volvo. Police said both vehicles were operating with cloned number plates but were picked up by automated number plate recognition technology. The Volvo XC60 has been traced and recovered in Middlesbrough.
Anna Turley, MP for Redcar and Cleveland, shared this message on social media: "A very serious incident is ongoing on Birchington Avenue in Grangetown this morning. My thoughts are with everyone affected, and with our emergency services dealing with what is clearly a very difficult situation." Cleveland Police declined to comment on the ages of the two people who died in the fire.
