One man has died after an explosion and fire ripped through a flat in Hackney, and two others have been left critically injured with burns.

A fourth man is in a stable condition after the incident which took broke out in a second floor flat in Wicklow House on the Stamford Hill Estate yesterday afternoon just after 2.30pm.

Officers from the Met, the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service found a 30-year-old man, a 29-year-old man and two 28-year-old men with burn injuries at the scene.

Three of the men were taken to an east London hospital while the 30-year-old man was taken to a central London hospital, and later transferred to a specialist burns unit in Essex, but he died last night at 10.30pm.

DI Paul Ridley from Hackney CID who is investigating the incident said: “A number of residents in the block of flats have been evacuated and placed into emergency accommodation overnight.

“An investigation has been launched to establish the circumstances of this incident. I would request that anyone who can provide any further information, who witnessed the explosion or the immediate aftermath to contact my investigation team.”

A post-mortem examination has been scheduled.

One of the injured 28-year-old men and the 29-year-old man remain in a critical condition.

An eye witness told the Gazette yesterday: “It isn’t so much of a fire now, it is more smoke but someone apparently jumped out with burns before I arrived, somebody said his clothes were in flames.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Hackney CID on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org.