A FIRE has ripped through a building in Chinatown, killing two people thought to be rough sleepers.

These are tragic circumstances and we working to identify the men

The blaze began in a multi-storey commercial building on Nicholas Street at 2.13am on Friday 25 November.

Councillor Paul Andrews, Executive Member for Adult Health and Wellbeing for Manchester City Council, said:

"This is tragic and shocking news and our hearts go out to those affected by it.

"Our message to anyone who is sleeping rough is please come and access the help and support available. We will find you somewhere safe to stay. Our dedicated rough sleepers team are out every day offering to help anyone facing the prospect of rough sleeping and we would urge anyone in this position to access this support as soon as possible."

Manchester Fire Service are continuing to damp down the building and make the building safe for further searches and investigations.

Chief Inspector Gareth Parkin, from GMP’s city centre team, said: “These are tragic circumstances and we working to identify the men who were found in the building.

“A joint investigation with GMFRS is in its early stages and we will be carrying out a number of enquiries to establish how this fire started.

“I would appeal to anyone with any information about this incident to please call us.”

Information can be passed on to police by calling 101 and quoting incident number 146 of 25 November 2016 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Further updates @manchesterfire

(Video credit: John Cooper, image credit: Manchester Fire Service)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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