Liam Payne's Friend Suffers Burns After Explosion at Singer's Apartment

By Nick Roman ·

Credit: REX

One Direction’s Liam Payne is reeling from a fire that has ravaged his £2million flat and left three of his friends in the hospital with burns.

The pop star, 20, joined his friends in the ambulance after a patio heater exploded on the balcony. While a source told E! News that Payne is doing "fine," the incident left one friend, speculated on Twitter to be Payne's best friend Andy Samuels, with second-degree burns covering 20% of his body. Though it hasn't been officially verified that the victim is Samuels, a friend of both Payne and Samuels, Michael Clifford, took to Twitter to address the incident, writing, "My thoughts and prayers going out to @AndySamuels31 right now . hope ur ok bro."

It is speculated that the friend, thought to be Samuels, was trying to refuel an outdoor heater on the terrace when the blaze started. Payne was in the kitchen at the time but quickly rushed to help put out the flames before the fire could spread. He then rode in the ambulance at his friend's side as medics rushed the victim to the hospital. Another man and a woman are said to have suffered superficial burns to their hands.

Firefighters tweeted details of the incident on Monday night as six engines from East London raced to the scene at about 9:45 PM.

Station Manager Laurie Kenny, who was at the scene, said: “Firefighters worked quickly and professionally to get the fire under control as quickly as possible. About 30 people left the building before we arrived and were not injured.

The fire destroyed 80% of Liam’s balcony in his penthouse in Canary Wharf, East London. It took 35 firefighters to put out the blaze, using breathing equipment to navigate past the thick smoke.

None of the other members of One Direction were at the flat at the time, but it is thought that Liam’s new girlfriend, 19-year-old Sophia Smith, may have been with him.

A spokesman at Liam’s building said, “We are not disclosing any information.”

However, residents of the building are coming forward left and right. One resident recalled the incident, saying, “It was about 10pm when it happened. I was sitting outside and there was a strong smell of burning. I looked up, saw flames. All I saw was an orange glow, so the flames were pretty big. I went to the toilet, heard an explosion. That’s when I called it in."

The tenant continues, "We were evacuated downstairs in the lift. Then a guy ran out with a cloth on his hands screaming. I didn’t get a look at him. There was a guy who had burnt his face who was being helped by the emergency services. I didn’t see his face but he was quite a tall guy."

A Twitter user tweeted this picture of the incident:

Liam Payne's Friend Suffers Burns After Explosion at Singer's Apartment

News of the blaze, and of Samuels' medical condition, quickly spread via Twitter with the #prayforandy hashtag taking off worldwide. Ultimately, Samuels' girlfriend, Daisie Smith, sent out a tweet updating fans on the condition of her boyfriend:

Payne himself has not yet addressed the incident.

Via: E! Online / The Mirror

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