26/05/2004

Saatchi art collection devastated by warehouse fire

A warehouse fire in Leyton has destroyed over 100 works of art from Charles Saatchi's collection of contemporary 'Britart'.

The fire at an industrial estate in Argall Avenue in east London gutted a storage warehouse used by specialist firm Momart to store the art collection.

Among the items believed to have been lost in the fire are the embroidered tent by Tracey Emin, and many other valuable works by British artists.

On Wednesday, London Fire Brigade crews were still at the scene of the blaze at the industrial warehouse complex damping down small fires.

When it is safe to do so, investigators will examine the area in an attempt to ascertain the cause of the blaze, which broke out on Tuesday morning.

However, a spokesperson for London Fire Brigade said the investigation into the cause of the fire was not likely to start until Thursday and, given the size of the fire and amount of damage caused, it could take some time to complete.

At the height of the blaze, which destroyed 38 industrial units, around 500 people were evacuated from the area surrounding the huge fire over fears that overheating gas cylinders at a car repair shop could explode.

The blaze was reported to have taken hold in a single storey warehouse on Argall Avenue at around 3.40am Tuesday morning.

(SP)

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