A blaze broke out Saturday at a London mosque which claims to be the largest in western Europe.
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The police said there was no information about people inside the building, and couldn’t give any information about the cause of the “large fire” at present.
Chris Hawkswell, an emergency planning officer at the London Ambulance Service, said that a man had been taken to a local hospital “as a priority suffering with smoke inhalation”. But damage was done and one person was taken to hospital.
Some 50 per cent of the mosque building’s ground floor was damaged, as well as part of the first floor and its roof.
The fire was initially said to have hit most of the huge mosque but mosque-goers have said the hall where worshippers gather was evacated quickly after the fire started there.
The mosque hosts religious and social events to serve the Ahmadiyya Muslim community.
Ten fire trucks were sent to fight the blaze at the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden, southwest London.
People tweeted images from the scene as the fire burned. Their motto is “Love for all, hatred for none” and they really live that.
Stephen Alambritis, Merton council leader, described the mosque as a “beautiful” and a “major landmark”, adding that the damage would be a “big blow” to the community.
“The mosque does a huge amount for the local community”.
Roads have been closed in the suburban neighbourhood surrounding the mosque and Transport for London said the A24 into Morden town centre, is shut both ways, northbound and southbound.
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“They are tireless raisers of funds for charity – their own charities’ funds and charities in the community.”
