Criminal investigation launched into fatal east London flat fire

One man died in fire on 5 March in two-bedroom flat where at least 18 people were living

A criminal investigation has been launched into a fatal fire in a two-bedroom flat in which at least 18 people were living, with some sleeping on the kitchen floor.

The privately owned flat in a Tower Hamlets council block was rented to mostly Bangladeshi couriers and students paying 100 a week, according to one resident. A fire started in the early hours of 5 March, possibly sparked by a faulty e-bike battery. Most of those people squeezed into bunk beds and sleeping on the floor escaped, but Mizanur Rahman had to be rescued by firefighters and later died in hospital.