Tolworth Rise fire: Two men dead and five injured as blaze rips through flat in south west London

Two men have died after a fire ripped through a flat above a shop in south west London.

Firefighters rushed to Tolworth Rise South, in Kingston, at 4.55am on Tuesday.

Two men were pronounced dead at the scene and five more men were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

Fire crews evacuated surrounding properties and took five people to temporary accomodation.

A London Ambulance spokesman told the BBC: "We sent four ambulance crews, our hazardous area response team and an incident response officer.

"We assessed five patients and took them to hospital. Sadly, two people were dead at the scene."

Eight fire engines and 58 fire fighters from New Malden, Surbiton, Sutton, Wimbledon, Kingston and other stations attended the scene.

Tolworth Rise South is currently closed between Southwood Drive and Oakdene Drive, Transport for London said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.