Six people, including a three-week-old baby, have died in a blaze in Camberwell PAUL WOOD

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A THREE-week-old baby was among six people who died in a fire that ripped through a block of flats in Camberwell yesterday afternoon.

Two other children, a six-year-old and a seven-year-old, were also among the dead.

The blaze in Lakanal Flats in Sceaux Gardens, off Dalwood Street in south London, began on the fourth floor of the 12-storey block yesterday afternoon and spread rapidly to the 11th floor. More than 100 firefighters struggled to contain the fire.

Today, a heavy smell of soot and smoke hung in the air as police and fire officials began their investigation into the cause of the fire.

The rear of the building was blackened, with several parts of the wall missing, and the area immediately around the building remained sealed off.

Neighbours described the panic and said they saw people screaming for help.

Lincent Johnson, 28, who lives across the street said: "The people were in the windows, screaming out for help.

"There was panic, there were a lot of people screaming."

He said he first smelled the fire from his nearby flat: "It wasn't that big at first, but it started to spread so quickly."

Abenet Tsejage, of nearby Havil Street, also saw people screaming for help and said she saw one mother dangle a baby from a window as if she was about to drop her child.

But she said the woman did not let go and she believed they were rescued.

A spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said: "There were six fatalities - three adults and three children.

"Thirty people were rescued - these 30 people were in immediate peril and were evacuated from the building."

"I've been in the job for 30 years, and I've never seen anything like it. The hot weather and the fact that people's windows were open made the fire what it was"

The baby, seven-year-old and an adult woman were pronounced dead in hospital, the spokesman said.

Three other bodies were found at the scene - a six-year-old child, a woman in her 30s and another adult.

He said the cause of the fire was still being probed and added: "Two specialist fire investigation teams have conducted a preliminary investigation into the cause of the incident.

"They will be working alongside our firefighting crews. There are still hotspots in the structure which could reignite if we don't extinguish them properly."

Unharmed survivors were taken to an emergency centre in a nearby church hall, set up by Southwark Council and the British Red Cross, while the injured were taken to three London hospitals.

The woman died at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospital, while two of the child victims were taken to King's College Hospital in nearby Denmark Hill.

A second adult patient remained in a stable condition in Guy's and St Thomas'.

Nine patients were discharged from King's College Hospital after being treated for minor injuries, mainly smoke inhalation, while a further seven people were treated at Lewisham Hospital for "non-serious injuries".

Paul Glenny, a firefighter who battled the blaze, said: "I've been in the job for 30 years and I've never seen anything like it. The hot weather and the fact that people's windows were open made the fire what it was."

A crowd gathered in the street for several hours after the fire had been extinguished, staring up at the blackened front of the block.

A number of the flats were completely destroyed by the flames.

Speaking from the evacuation centre at Welton Hall, Bushey Road, Nancy Kanu, 28, who lived on the fifth floor of the tower, said: "We saw smoke coming in through the window.

"The stairs were all full of smoke. We were really scared because we couldn't walk. We were crawling through the smoke."