A PENSIONER rescued from a high-rise flat fire in Blackburn has died in hospital.

The 70-year-old woman, who has not been named, suffered what police described as significant injuries in the blaze at Bowland House flats in Primrose Bank at around 7pm on Tuesday.

She was taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital where she was being treated in the intensive care unit.

However, she died on Wednesday night.

Police are still trying to trace her next of kin.

An investigation is still being conducted to establish the cause of the fire but police are not treating it as suspicious.

Two other people were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene.

The fire was contained to one flat on the seventh floor but residents were still evacuated on Tuesday night as a precaution.

Blackburn central ward Cllr Hussain Akhtar described the death as tragic.

Cllr Akhtar said: “This lady’s death is incredibly sad. I was hoping she was going to pull through.

“To lose anyone is always tragic but for it to happen so close to Christmas must be even worse for her family.

“This is not only a tragedy for them but it is a tragedy for the people of Blackburn.

“I hope this tragedy can bring people closer together and encourages people to check on their neighbours and make sure they are OK.

“I would like to praise the emergency services for their quick response to the fire. Their actions no doubt ensured nobody else was seriously injured or killed.”

Firefighters arrived at the scene within minutes and a fire service spokesman said the fire protection measures had been working as they should have been, which ensured the fire was only contained to one property, and the alarms in the block of flats had activated as would have been expected.

Anyone with information can call police on 101, quoting log 1172 of December 18.