Thousands raised for Greenwich Studio 338 fire victim Tomas Ceidukas memorial

Thousands of pounds have been raised for a memorial fund and to send home the Lithuanian male who died in a fire at a club in east London. Tomas Ceidukas, 28, died after receiving severe burns following the massive blaze at the Studio 338 club in Greenwich on 8 August.

Ceidukas was taken to hospital with his injuries but died two days later. In a statement, Studio 338 said: "He was as strong as an ox but it was too much even for him."

The club's management set up a fundraising page for the 28-year-old to repatriate his body back to his home in Lithuania, with the remaining donations going to his family. The JustGiving page managed to break its £5,000 ($6,400) target after just few hours and is now on its way to raise more than £10,000.

Writing on the fundraising page, Studio 338 said: "As you will all know by now, we lost our beloved Tomas to the fire on Monday [8 august]. He was the bravest, happiest soul one could hope to meet. He was always ready to help anyone in need and now we hope we can do this last thing for him by giving him a wonderful send off and supporting his family in this awful time

"All donations will go towards bringing Tomas home to Lithuania, giving him a lovely memorial service and then donating the remaining money to his small family who relied on what he sent home from his job here at Studio 338.

"We have been overwhelmed by the messages of support for Tomas, both whilst he was fighting for his life in hospital and after he sadly passed away. This is great way for you to do something really special for Tomas and his love ones if you can spare anything at all."

Police arrested 14 people on suspicion of arson in the wake of the fire but all were subsequently de-arrested.

Detectives from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command (HMCC) are investigating with the Health and Safety Executive are working together to establish the cause of the fire. Police said "it is not unusual in circumstances such as this" for the HMCC to provide additional expertise and resources in such an investigation.