Two men are charged with murder after homeless man died and another was put in hospital when their tent was ‘set on fire’ next to busy dual carriageway
- Homeless person’s tent went up in flames on Tuesday next to A406, east London
- Two victims, thought to be in their 40s, ran onto road with burn wounds
- Rushed to hospital where one died and the other remains fighting for his life
- Two other men have been charged with murder, attempted murder and arson at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court
Two men have been charged with the murder of a homeless man and the attempted killing of another after their tent was set on fire next to a busy dual carriageway.
The first victim, believed to be in his 40s, suffered almost 100 per cent burns from the blaze on the side of the A406 in Wanstead, East London.
Another homeless man, also believed to be in his 40s, is in an induced coma in ‘critical condition’ in hospital.
A 37-year-old man has been charged with murder, attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life and will appear in custody at Barkingside Magistrates Court today.
Two men, believed to be homeless and in their 40s, ran onto the middle of the A406 after suffering burns when their tent was set on fire. One of them died and the other is in critical condition
Following his appearance he was remanded to appear at the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday, June 25 2019.
Yesterday a 51-year-old man appeared in court charged with the same three charges murder, attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life.
Police were called to reports of the huge blaze at around 11.45pm on Tuesday.
The two victims had ran onto the middle of the dual carriageway after suffering burns before being rushed to hospital.
Four fire engines and about 25 firefighters tackled the fire, which completely destroyed the tent and damaged a large area of wasteland.
The first man died from his wounds at Royal London Hospital on Wednesday, with a post-mortem examination due to take place today.
The tent went up in flames near the North Circular Road in Wanstead, east London, late on Tuesday night
The second man is at the specialist burns unit at Broomfield Hospital.
Police have made a new appeal for information in a bid to determine the identity of the men by releasing the what they believe to be the victims’ names.
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Considine, leading the investigation, said: ‘We are releasing additional details today, including the locations of the hospitals, as we really need to hear from anyone who knows or think they may know either or both of these men to help us with our investigation.
‘I am particularly appealing to the East European community to come forward, as we think both men may be of Romanian origin.
‘We believe that the deceased man may have been called Majea or Manea, but we do not know if this is a first name, surname or even a correct name, while the second man in hospital in Essex might be called Pedro, or Petra, but again we can’t be sure this is right.
‘We’ve also been told that both men may well have worked as casual labourers in the east London area of Ilford or Redbridge or Barking and Dagenham, as the area where this fire took place is close to the borough border. Perhaps you employed them, or worked with them?
‘If you know anything at all, however insignificant you think it might be, we really need to hear from you as it might be the piece of information that we need to piece together the bits of information we currently have in order to create a fuller picture of what happened.
‘We also want to hear from anyone who knows anything at all about how this fire was caused. We know that after it started, two men came out onto the A406 in an attempt to seek assistance from passing drivers.’
Anyone with information that could help identify the victims or with the investigation should call 101 or the incident line number 020 8345 3865 quoting either Operation Rochefort or 9090/18JUN.
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