Five people rescued from ‘serious arson attack’ on Belfast property - appeal

Police are this morning appealing for information following a serious arson incident in the Eglantine Place area of Belfast.

It has been reported that five people - including a child - were rescued from a property in south Belfast after a number of cars went on fire.

Detective Sergeant Natalie Moore said: “At approximately 6:30 am this morning, police received a report that a vehicle in a ground floor apartment car park had been set alight, the fire then spread to building above.

“Officers and Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene and a number of residents were evacuated.

“The road currently remains closed and diversions are in place.

“Enquiries into this reckless attack, which we are treating as arson with intent to endanger life, are continuing, and I would appeal to anyone who was in the area this morning, and who saw any suspicious activity to call our detectives on 101, and quote reference number 235 of 04/02/21.

“A report can also be made online using our non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/”

You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/

______________________________________________________

A message from our editor: Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a copy of the paper. You can also support trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription of the News Letter.