Deadly blaze is one of the worst in London in the last decade

Investigators have revealed that the house fire in Neasden which claimed six lives may have been caused by a chest freezer in the hallway.

The deadly blaze, which according to the London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the worst house fire in the city in the last decade, killed a mother and her five children on Saturday morning.

Muna Elmufatish, 41, perished alongside her daughters Hanin, 14, Basma, 13, Amal, nine, and sons Mustafa, five and two-year-old Yehya Kua, after the blaze ripped through their home in Sonia Gardens at around 1am.

Father Bassam, 51, and eldest daughter 16-year-old Nur managed to escape the inferno and are being treated for their injuries in hospital.

Fire investigators believe that the chest freezer in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs may have caused the fire.

The make of the chest freezer is not known at this stage.

A second fridge freezer by BEKO was ruled out as the cause by investigators yesterday.

Following the incident, LFB have launched a fire safety blitz across the capital which will see a pilot programme rolled out in secondary schools in Brent.

The brigade will also be writing to every headteacher in London with fire safety advice they can give to children in assemblies.

An inquest into the six deaths at Barnet Coroner’s Court was opened this morning and adjourned until February 16.