Man, 31, charged with murder & arson after fire that left one dead and two others missing
A MAN has been charged with murder after a devastating house fire left one person dead and two missing.
Hakeem Kigundu, 31, is set to appear in the dock after the blaze tore through a property in Reading, Berkshire earlier this week.
Residents were seen leaping 12ft to the ground from third-floor windows as flames gutted the property at around 3am on Wednesday.
One casualty is known to have died, while two others remain missing.
Police combing through the debris have said it's "highly unlikely" they will find any further survivors.
Kingundu, formerly of Rowe Court, Reading, was tonight charged with one count of murder and one of arson with intent to endanger life, officials at Thames Valley Police said.
He will appear in the dock at Reading Magistrates' Court tomorrow.
MURDER CHARGE
One resident said he made a "miracle" escape after jumping from the third storey during the ferocious fire.
The man, who walked barefoot with a bandage on one of his feet, told The Sun: "It was utterly horrific.
"I was woken by the fire alarm going off and opened my flat door to a huge amount of smoke.
"Then there was all of those loud bangs, like explosions.
"I was terrified. It was chaos. People were screaming and yelling.
"I heard people were jumping from windows so I did.
'I THOUGHT I'D DIE'
"It’s a miracle I am alive. I thought I was going to die. It was hellish."
Tom Price, 40, who lives in a nearby building, also said people were hurling themselves from their windows, with one woman jumping from "a high floor".
"There were screams and shouts and glass was being smashed," he added.
Speaking after the inferno, Thames Valley Police Superintendent Steve Raffield said no one else is expected to be found alive.
"We have been working to do everything we can to find signs of life but sadly it is highly unlikely we will find further survivors in the building," he said.
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"The building itself is unstable and it will be a complex operation."
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Dramatic mobile phone video taken by a neighbour shows orange flames bursting through the roof the building, with fire crew ladders propped against the two-storey block.
Other residents could be see gathering at the end of the road as fire crews tackled the blaze.
