At least 12 fire engines and around 80 firefighters have been called to a blaze at a primary school in east London, the fire brigade said, adding that the blaze has caused significant damage to the building.

The incident took place at Hewett Road in the Dagenham area on Tuesday morning. “Flames could be seen from some distance away and crews were faced with a serious blaze when they arrived on the scene,” Station Manager Rod Wainwright said.

@LondonFire rodding primary school# Dagenham up in flames pic.twitter.com/7oBOWy61ib — Jon h (@67jrde) September 4, 2018

Photos on social media showed huge plumes of smoke billowing into the air.

At one point around half of the single-storey building was alight. Later, the firefighters worked hard to bring the inferno under control. They are expected to be at the site for the rest of the day.

According to Wainwright, it is too soon to speak about the cause of the blaze. “Fire investigators will enter the site to start their work,” he said, adding that no one was injured in the incident.

Twelve fire engines and around 80 firefighters have been called to a fire at a primary school in Hewett Road in #Dagenham. More to follow. pic.twitter.com/KP1zXc8PQu — London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) September 4, 2018

Reports on Twitter suggest that the affected building belongs to Roding Primary School. The pupils are due to return from summer vacation on Wednesday, according to statement on the school’s website.

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