A 28-year-old nightclub worker died in hospital last night (August 9) after being injured in the Studio 338 blaze in Greenwich on Monday.

Named locally as Tomas Ceidukas, friends and colleagues have paid tribute to a man they call "strong, happy and hard-working".

They said on Facebook last night: "Our hearts are smashed and broken. Tomas fought for as long as he could given the extent of his injuries.

"He was as strong as an ox but it was too much even for him. We are so sad to tell you all that he died a few minutes ago."

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Sharing a holiday snap from Ibiza last year, his friends remembered the good times they had. 

The statement read: "He was the happiest guy on the island but instead of spending it off clubbing all the time he stayed with the family and played with the kids by the pool, always making sure everyone was having a great holiday, helping with the food and generally just being Tomas.

"He was so pure and beautiful.

"An inspiration to us all, always postive, never complaining, working through the night to make sure the parties were the best they could be for you and us.

"We are all so devasted to lose him like this."

They added: "Everything we do from now on is for you our brother."

Hundreds of friends have left tributes on the club's Facebook page.

Dean Boutcher wrote: "Such sad, sad news to hear, when 338 is up and running again there should be a picture of him up there in the DJ box looking over the crowd on the first night."

Raminta Vi commented: "I'm heartbroken, I'm devastated and I cannot express my pain, he was and he will be my childhood friend, we had so much fun together it doesn't matter if it was Winter, Spring, Autumn or Summer, it was always fun.

"I remember everything, you will be missed and never forgotten, and when it's my time I'll come there to tell you all the stories while you were away. RIP Angel."

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Photo: Facebook

A memorial group has already gained almost 300 members, with friends posting their condolences.

Dan Perrin wrote: "Heartbroken. Just so unfair that this beautiful young soul can be taken away so suddenly. Devastated beyond words by this

"Tomas you were the first person to shake my hand when i joined the team and gave me a huge smile and made me feel part of the family right away.

"I have never seen anyone work so hard without complaint, be so brave and fearless.

"You were and will always be an inspiration. It was such a pleasure to see you behind the decks, with a huge Tomas smile loving the music and finding such joy from the results of your superhuman work.

"Everything we do from now is for you mate."

Local politicians have also taken to social media to pay their respects to the popular young man.

The Health and Safety Executive are working alongside the Met Police to carry out a joint investigation into the fire.

Police were called to Boord Street in Greenwich by the London Fire Brigade at 11.55am on Monday, August 8.

Fifteen fire engines and 100 firefighters fought the blaze at Studio 338 in Boord Street, which sparked over 50 calls to the brigade.

Group Manager Mark Hazelton who was at the scene said: "Our thoughts are with the friends and family of the man who sadly lost his life following this incident.

"This was a large, rapidly developing fire which presented serious challenges for our crews involving cylinders and unseen fire spread.

"The nightclub was also declared unsafe for our firefighters to enter so they had to fight the fire from outside the building.

"It was a protracted incident and our crews worked incredibly hard over a long period of time to bring it to a close."

London Ambulance Service were also called to the scene.

Next of kin have now been informed but formal identification has yet to take place.

Detectives from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating with the Health and Safety Executive. 

At this stage the investigation has yet to establish what caused the fire.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police non-emergency line on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Did you know Tomas? To pay tribute, contact jessica.clark@london.newsquest.co.uk