Five people have been hospitalised after a "petrol bombing" at a restaurant in east London.
Police, fire engines and ambulances all descended on the Indian Aroma restaurant in Ilford on Friday evening in what the Met dubbed a "reckless and deliberate attack".
"We are conducting urgent enquiries to trace those responsible and ask anyone with information to come forward immediately," the force said.
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Officers have now launched an urgent manhunt for the alleged bombers - with the fire being treated as arson with intent to endanger life.
A spokesman for the London Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 9.04pm today to reports of a fire on Woodford Avenue, Ilford.
Police, fire engines and ambulances all descended on the Indian Aroma restaurant in Ilford on Friday evening
|"We sent resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer and paramedics from our hazardous area response team.
"We also dispatched a trauma team in a car from London's Air Ambulance.
"We treated five people for burns and smoke inhalation. We took two patients to a major trauma centre and three others to local hospitals."
A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: "We were called at 9:02pm to reports of a fire at a restaurant on Woodford Avenue in Gants Hill.
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Local MP - and Health Secretary - Wes Streeting offered his thanks to service personnel for their response
| PA"Part of the ground floor restaurant was damaged by fire. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus rescued five people from the restaurant. They were all taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service. Around nine further people were able to leave the restaurant before firefighters arrived.
"The Brigade's Control Officers received seven calls about the fire and mobilised crews from Ilford, Hainault, Leytonstone and Woodford fire stations to the scene. The fire was extinguished by 10.32pm.
"The cause of the fire is being investigated by the Brigade and the Metropolitan Police Service."
Footage from the scene showed columns of emergency vehicles outside the restaurant after the "attack".
Meanwhile, local MP - and Health Secretary - Wes Streeting offered his thanks to service personnel for their response to the "serious" incident.
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