Greenwich fire: Strangers pledge thousands of pounds to send body of dead nightclub worker back to Lithuania

'Happiest guy': Tomas Ceidukas, pictured on holiday in Ibiza
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Hatty Collier12 August 2016

More than £7,000 has been pledged in a touching effort to send the body of a Lithuanian nightclub worker back home after he died in a fire.

Tomas Ceidukas, 28, had been helping to rescue others trapped inside Studio 338, near the O2 in Greenwich, after it was engulfed by flames at noon on Monday.

Scores of tributes have been paid to the 28-year-old since it emerged he had died in hospital two days after the fire.

An online funding page set up by his colleagues at the nightclub to support his family and raise enough funds to repatriate his body has been flooded with tribute donations and smashed its £5,000 target in just a few hours.

In a statement posted online, his colleagues wrote: “As you will all know by now, we lost our beloved Tomas to the fire on Monday. He was the bravest, happiest soul one could hope to meet.

“He was always ready to help anyone in need and now we hope we can do this last thing for him by giving him a wonderful send off and supporting his family in this awful time.

“All donations will go towards bringing Tomas home to Lithuania, giving him a lovely memorial service and then donating the remaining money to his small family who relied on what he sent home from his job here at Studio 338.

Rescue bid: Emergency services take a man away from the scene of the fire in Greenwich

“We have been overwhelmed by the messages of support for Tomas, both whilst he was fighting for his life in hospital and after he sadly passed away.”

Mr Ceidukas, who moved to London from Lithuania five years ago to work in music events, helped escort people from the burning club, which had recently undergone a major refurbishment, before becoming trapped as black smoke and flame enveloped the building.

Inferno: Flames engulfed the club in Greenwich (Patrick Swift )
Patrick Swift

He was rescued by firefighters using breathing apparatus soon after they arrived at the blaze at the 3,000-capacity club and was airlifted to hospital suffering from serious burns.

Detectives from Greenwich CID are investigating the cause of the fire along with the Health and Safety Executive and the London Fire Brigade. No cause has yet been found.

Fourteen people were arrested on Monday on suspicion of arson but released without charge shortly afterwards.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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