Police probe mysterious cause of caravan blaze that killed two-year-old girl as mother and four siblings barely escaped with their lives
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Detectives have launched an investigation into the mysterious cause of a caravan fire that killed a two-year-old girl.
Lincolnshire Police said the blaze at Sealands Caravan Park in Ingoldmells, near Skegness, at 10.30pm was 'unexplained'.
A woman and three of her children made it out safely but her fourth - the little girl - lost her life.
The mother and three children received medical attention at hospital and have since been discharged.
Around 50 people from nearby caravans were evacuated and had to stay in emergency accommodation at the Laver Leisure site.
The child passed away at Sealands Caravan Park in Ingoldmells, near Skegness, following the blaze at 10.30pm
A woman and three of her children made it out safely but her fourth - the little girl - lost her life
The mother and three children received medical attention at hospital and have since been discharged
Leigh Sleafer, whose caravan was a few down from the fire, said the deadly blaze had left her seven-year-old autistic son being sick and traumatised her other children.
She told MailOnline: 'I'm not really sure what happened as I was in the shower and had just settled my children down.
'My friend was outside, we saw what I thought was a heavy cloud of smoke and thought I heard kids shouting.'
She continued: 'Next thing I knew was my friend came in saying there was a caravan on fire.
'One of my children is autistic and was so distraught he was being sick so I had to get them all away from the fire and took them down the road to work out what we was going to do. We are now at home safe but very traumatised from it all.'
She added: 'I'm heartbroken for the family and for all that saw this… so tragic. Sleep tight little angel.'
Around 50 people from nearby caravans were evacuated and had to stay in emergency accommodation at the Laver Leisure site
Ms Sleafer said she left the caravan site in the middle of the night with her children and drove them three hours home to Bedfordshire to 'feel safe with their dad'.
Another witness said: 'It was heartbreaking to see, someone ran to me asking me for my fire extinguisher because there were two little ones in van.
'I tried to tell her my little extinguisher wouldn't help.' Another woman said on Facebook: 'My sister was in the van next door but was out at the time.
'She was just walking back to the van when it happened but by sounds it was very very bad. It exploded. That poor women and her five kids.'
And another added: 'So sad, we're staying on this site and didn't know anything about it until just now when we tried to walk out of the site and it was all blocked off.'
Councillor for Skegness North Carl Macey said: 'I feel sorry for those lives that this news is going to touch in such a detrimental way.
'My thoughts are with the family that will now be left with this devastating news.
'I wish the family the very best of luck going forward, as I'm sure they'll need help and guidence with grieving because it is such a horrendous situation.'
He added: 'You wouldn't wish this upon anybody.'
Chief Superintendent Kieran English said the cause of the fire remained 'unexplained'.
He said: 'At this point of time it is unexplained, but hopefully as the day progresses we may have some indication in terms of the causation of the fire.'
Mr English added: 'I've got children. This is absolutely tragic. My thoughts and my prayers go to the family and their friends at this really sad time.'
He urged any witnesses to the blaze to contact his officers.
Mr English said: 'We've a long way to go before we can ascertain the facts in this tragic incident.
'But Lincolnshire Police and Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue are determined to find answers for the family.'
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Jo Fortune said: 'This is a devasting incident for all involved'
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Jo Fortune said: 'This is a devasting incident for all involved.
'We are in the very early stages of our investigations and the circumstances which led to the fire are not yet clear. We will be working closely with specialist teams to understand what happened.
'We would like to appeal to anyone who was there last night and has not yet spoken to police to come forward, and for anyone with video footage to please share that with officers to add to our intelligence of the incident.
'This is particularly harrowing, with a family losing a child, and we'd ask that people remember those victims and not share footage online.'
Police said an investigation team would be at the scene throughout the day, carrying out the initial stages of the inquiry.
Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue added: 'Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue were called to a static caravan on fire in Ingoldmells last night.
'On arrival our five attending crews found that the fire was already well-established and aggressive firefighting was needed to extinguish it.
'A family had been in the caravan when the fire broke out and whilst the mother was able to escape with three of her children, unfortunately her youngest daughter, aged 2, has sadly lost her life.
Matt King, Divisional Commander for East Division at Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, said: 'Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the family at this time.
'Our Fire Investigation Team will be working with CSI colleagues from Lincolnshire Police to complete a full investigation into the cause of the fire.
'All firefighters have been offered welfare support, and once investigations are complete, local fire crews and our community fire safety team will be on hand to talk to people in the area and address any fire safety concerns, at what will be an upsetting time.'
Sealands Caravan Park said it could not comment on the incident.