At least two people, including a teenager, have been arrested over an alleged arson attack on an Indian restaurant in London.
The Metropolitan Police said both the 15-year-old boy and the 54-year-old man are currently in police custody.
According to local media reports, the incident left at least five people injured.
Police said the injured included three women and two men.
“Two of them – a man and a woman – remain in a life-threatening condition. It is also believed there are two further victims who left the scene before officers arrived. Efforts remain ongoing to identify them,” the police said in a statement.
The incident occurred at the Indian Aroma restaurant on Woodford Avenue in Gants Hill, Ilford, on Friday.
Firefighters battled for 90 minutes to bring the blaze under control.
Dina Michael, who witnessed the blaze, told BBC London: “I turned around and see some guy running like a fireball.”
“He was fully on fire. One of my friends came with a water bucket and we were just trying to put the fire down,” Michael said.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Rogers of the Met’s Central Specialist Crime North unit said: “While we have made two arrests, our investigation continues at pace so we can piece together what happened on Friday evening.”
