Niklas Halle’n/Getty Images(LONDON) — At least 58 people are missing and presumed dead from the massive fire that engulfed a residential high-rise building in London earlier this week, police said on Saturday.

This latest figure includes the 30 people already confirmed dead; 16 of those bodies are being held in a mortuary, including one person who died after being transported to a local hospital. The others have been recovered from the scorched structure, according to Metropolitan Police Service Commander Stuart Cundy.

“The figure of 58 are those who are missing and that we have to presume are dead,” Cundy said at a news conference in London Saturday afternoon. “It might be that some of those are safe and well, but for whatever reason have not reached [out] to let us know. Again, I would urge them if that is you, I don’t care the reason, please, please contact us.”

Cundy said the Metropolitan Police Service has formally identified one of the victims who died in the June 14 blaze as 23-year-old Mohammad Alhajali, a resident of the apartment building in the West London neighborhood of North Kensington. Alhajali and his brothers fled their home in Daraa, Syria, due to the ongoing civil war and moved to London in 2014.

“Mohammad was a very amazing and kind person. He gave love to everyone. He came to the U.K. because he had ambitions and aims for his life and for his family. Our whole family will miss Mohammad dearly, and he will never be forgotten. To God we belong, and to him we return,” Alhajali’s family said in a statement released by police.

Although the flames have now been extinguished, Cundy said rescuers don’t expect to find any survivors inside the building at this point.

Investigators believe the fire started at around 1 a.m. local time Wednesday on the fourth floor of the 24-story Grenfell Tower. The London Fire Brigade dispatched more than 200 firefighters, at least 40 fire engines and about 20 ambulance crews in an effort to battle the inferno.

It took nearly two hours to gain control of the conflagration, according to fire officials.

“This is an unprecedented incident,” London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton told reporters Wednesday night. “In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never, ever seen anything of this scale.”

The Metropolitan Police Service, which is leading the ongoing investigation, believes it has identified the origin of the fire, which so far does not appear to have been intentional. The exact cause of the fire is still unknown.

In addition to those killed, the blaze injured at least 74 people. As of Saturday afternoon, 19 remain hospitalized, with 10 in critical condition, according to police.

It’s unclear exactly how many residents were inside the building at the time. But the tower, built in 1974, contained 120 apartments, according to its management company, the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization.

Cundy has said the ongoing operation to recover and identify all victims is a complex process, and some may never be identified.

“The conditions inside Grenfell Tower mean that the search-and-recovery operation to find and recover the victims is extremely challenging. The upper floors of the block are particularly hazardous due to the damage caused by the fire. The sad reality is that this work will take some time, stretching into many, many weeks,” the police commander said at a news conference Friday afternoon.

“Sadly, the nature of injuries caused by such an intense fire will mean the identification process will take some time. But it would also be deeply distressing for families for us to release wrong information,” he added.

The fire has left the building almost completely charred, and there were concerns about the tower’s structural integrity, as it appeared to lean slightly to one side.

Search-and-recovery efforts were paused on Friday over safety concerns, but resumed Saturday afternoon, police said.

At the news conference Saturday afternoon, Cundy reiterated that the time it will take to find and recover victims will be “significant.”

“Both myself and colleagues from London Fire Brigade have already said it will take weeks. It may take longer than that. My commitment to families is that as soon as we can, we will locate and recover their loved ones,” he told reporters. “The reason we had to pause the search and recovery yesterday was for the safety of our staff. We do not want another fatality arising out of this tragedy.”

Following a meeting of the Grenfell Tower taskforce on Saturday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that a “London-wide local authority recovery operation” was established Friday in response to the devastating fire.

Khan said people were frustrated by the lack of information about the missing and the dead, as well as a lack of coordination between support services. Residents who survived the tower blaze lost everything and have no idea where they are going to live or how they will get back on their feet.

“The government must ensure the recovery operation receives all resources and expertise they need,” Khan said in a statement posted to Facebook. “I have stressed to the taskforce the need for local residents and the wider public to be provided with as much information as possible and for there to be maximum transparency.”

The move comes after Khan wrote an open letter to U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, who chairs the taskforce, saying people were frustrated by the lack of information about the victims, as well as a lack of coordination between support services.

“The scale of this tragedy is clearly proving too much for the local authority to cope with on their own,” the mayor said in his open letter to the prime minister.

After meeting with survivors of the fire on Friday, May announced a 5 million pound ($6.4 million) fund to help them in their plight. The fund includes a guarantee to rehouse Grenfell Tower residents as close as possible to where they previously lived.

The Conservative Party leader has been criticized for failing to meet with survivors of the fire on her first visit to the site earlier this week. </s> LONDON (ABC) -- The death toll from a fire that engulfed a residential high-rise building in London this week has climbed to 30 as rescue workers continue to search for survivors, police said, adding that the blaze did not appear to have been deliberately started.

The flames have now been extinguished but the number of dead is expected to rise, Stuart Cundy, commander of the Metropolitan Police Service in London, told reporters at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

In addition to those killed, the blaze injured at least 74 people. As of Thursday afternoon, 24 remain hospitalized, with 12 in critical condition, he said.

The Metropolitan Police Service, which is leading the ongoing investigation, believes it has identified the origin of the fire, which does not appear to have been intentional, Cundy said. The exact cause of the fire is still unknown.

Investigators believe the fire started at around 1 a.m. local time Wednesday on the fourth floor of the 24-story Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, an area of West London. The London Fire Brigade dispatched more than 200 firefighters, at least 40 fire engines and about 20 ambulance crews in an effort to battle the inferno.

Fire officials said it took nearly two hours to gain control of the conflagration.

"This is an unprecedented incident," London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton told reporters Wednesday night. "In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never, ever seen anything of this scale."

The fire has left the building almost completely charred, and there were concerns about the tower's structural integrity, as it appeared to lean slightly to one side.

It's unclear exactly how many residents were inside the building at the time. But the tower, built in 1974, contained 120 apartments, according to its management company, the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, who visited the still smoldering wreckage Thursday morning, promised a "proper investigation."

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Wednesday he was "truly devastated" and warned that the death toll could increase. </s> Authorities in London said Saturday that 58 people are missing and presumed dead from this week's fire disaster at a London high-rise tower.

The update from police came as Prime Minster Theresa May was set to meet with survivors of the high-rise fire at her office at 10 Downing Street. May has faced a barrage of criticism for the government's initial response to the tragedy that authorities had initially said left at least 30 dead.

"The figure of 58 are those who are missing and that we have to presume are dead," said Commander Stuart Cundy, a spokesman for London's Metropolitan Police. "It might be that some of those are safe and well but for whatever reason have not reached (out) to let us know. Again, I would urge them if that is you, I don't care the reason, please, please contact us."

Cundy added that it will take weeks or longer to recover and identify all the dead in the public housing block that was devastated by a fire early Wednesday. He also cautioned there may have been people in the tower that police are not aware of, which would add to the death toll.

"My heart goes out to those affected,” Cundy said. "As soon as we can, we will locate and recover loved ones."

Hundreds of angry protesters gathered outside 10 Downing Street on Saturday, raising chants that called May a "coward, British news outlets reported. Protesters are demanding to know why long-standing fire safety concerns raised by a tenants' group about the public housing tower, tucked in the city's ritzy North Kensington neighborhood, had not been addressed.

“She’s a coward and needs to leave," Tilly Howard, a protester told the Guardian. "The people are waking up to the right wing mainstream media and May just doesn’t get the public mood.”

Earlier on Saturday, Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip observed a minute of silence to honor the victims of the London high-rise fire. They paid their respect before the start of the annual Trooping the Color procession that marks the observance of the Queen's birthday.

The Queen said in a statement that she was "profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need."

"Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity," she added. "United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favor, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss." </s> British police say 58 people are missing and presumed to have died in this week’s blaze at a west London highrise apartment building.

“Sadly at this time, there are 58 people who we have been told were in Grenfell Tower on the night that are missing and therefore, sadly, I have to assume that they are dead,” Cmdr. Stuart Cundy told reporters on Saturday, adding that the figure could change.

This latest figure, based on reports from the public, included the 30 already confirmed to have died in the fire in west London early Wednesday.

Cundy said there may have been people in the tower that police are not aware of, which would add to the death toll.

He said it will take “weeks or longer” to recover and identify all the dead in the social housing building that was left charred and gutted by the devastating blaze.

He reiterated there is a police investigation underway and that it will look at how the fire spread.

“It will look at the building itself.”

Cundy promised an “exhaustive investigation” into the tragedy and said “my heart goes out to those affected.”

Prime Minister Theresa May met Saturday at 10 Downing Street with the families of some of the victims, along with volunteers and community leaders from the North Kensington neighbourhood where the building caught fire.

She visited the site of the fire on Latimer Road on Thursday, speaking to first responders. May returned to the neighbourhood the following day to meet with survivors at St. Clement’s Church while angry protesters waited outside. Some shouted “coward” as she left by a side door.

May announced on Friday that her government has set up a £5 million ($ 8.4 million Cdn) “discretionary fund” to help pay for food, clothing, personal supplies and funerals. The U.K. government has also promised to find homes for the survivors within three weeks at the latest.

​Residents of the tower say May was far too slow to visit the stricken community, that the building had been unsafe, and that officials have failed to give enough information and support to those who have lost relatives and their homes.

Survivors and families of the victims are demanding answers in light of reports that external panelling put up during a recent renovation contributed to the flames’ rapid spread. </s> LONDON—London police said Saturday that 58 people were presumed dead from the high-rise tower fire earlier this week, but warned the number might change as the search operation continues.

The number included the previously announced death toll of 30, London police commander Stuart Cundy said.

The fire ripped through the hulking 24-story... </s> Authorities in London said Saturday that 58 people missing are presumed dead from this week's fire disaster at a high-rise tower.

The update from police came as Prime Minster Theresa May met for more than two hours with survivors of the blaze at her office at 10 Downing Street. May has faced a barrage of criticism for the government's initial response to the tragedy at Grenfell Tower. The presumed dead includes 30 people authorities previously confirmed perished in the Wednesday morning blaze at the public housing complex.

Following the meeting, May issued in a statement in which she acknowledged that "support on the ground for families that needed help or basic information in the initial hours after this appalling disaster was not good enough."

She said that the government has begun distributing funds from a $6.4 emergency fund created to assist victims of the blaze, and housing officials are conducting safety checks of other public high-rise towers in London. May also said that she has set a deadline of three weeks for all the survivors of the Grenfell fire to be placed in new housing.

"I have heard the concerns and I have ordered immediate action across the board to help victims’ relatives and the survivors," May said.

Hundreds of angry protesters gathered outside 10 Downing Street on Saturday, raising chants that called May a "coward," British media reported. Protesters are demanding to know why long-standing fire safety concerns raised by a tenants' group about the public housing tower, tucked in the city's ritzy North Kensington neighborhood, had not been addressed. They also expressed anger that the prime minister did not meet with survivors or victims of the fire when she initially visited the neighborhood following the tragedy.

“She’s a coward and needs to leave," Tilly Howard, a protester told the Guardian newspaper. "The people are waking up to the right-wing, mainstream media and May just doesn’t get the public mood.”

Commander Stuart Cundy, a spokesman for London's Metropolitan Police, also cautioned there may have been people in the tower that police are not aware of, which would add to the death toll.

"The figure of 58 are those who are missing and that we have to presume are dead," said Cundy. "It might be that some of those are safe and well but for whatever reason have not reached (out) to let us know. Again, I would urge them if that is you, I don't care the reason, please, please contact us."

Cundy added that it will take weeks or longer to recover and identify all the dead in the housing block that was devastated. Police said 19 injured in the fire remain hospitalized, including 10 who were in critical condition.

The search of the 24-floor building had been paused on Friday due to safety concerns, but has now resumed, Cundy said. "My heart goes out to those affected,” Cundy said. "As soon as we can, we will locate and recover loved ones."

Cundy said authorities plan to release video and photographs from inside the badly-charred building.

nvestigators are trying to figure out why the fire spread so quickly to the top floors especially since the apartment complex underwent a $13 million refurbishment last year that included new thermal cladding to the exterior.

The Grenfell Action Group, the tenants' organization, had expressed concerns for years about the testing and maintenance of firefighting equipment and blocked emergency access to the site. “All our warnings fell on deaf ears and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable,” the group said after the fire broke out, according to the Associated Press.

In a blog post written last year, the Grenfell Action Group warned of "dangerous living conditions" in the tower. "It is a truly terrifying thought but the Grenfell Action Group firmly believe that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the KCTMO."

CTMO, the Kensington and Chelsea Management Organization, has managed the building on behalf of local public authorities who own it. The management organization said it was aware of the complaints made by residents, but that it was "too early to speculate what caused the fire and contributed to its spread."

Earlier on Saturday, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip observed a moment of silence to honor the victims. They paid their respects before the start of the annual Trooping the Color procession that marks the observance of the queen's birthday.

The queen said in a statement that she was "profoundly struck by the immediate inclination of people throughout the country to offer comfort and support to those in desperate need."

"Put to the test, the United Kingdom has been resolute in the face of adversity," she added. "United in our sadness, we are equally determined, without fear or favor, to support all those rebuilding lives so horribly affected by injury and loss." </s> Some 58 people are now feared dead in the Grenfell Tower fire in west London, according to British police, PressTV reported.

"Sadly at this time, there are 58 people who we have been told were in Grenfell Tower on the night that are missing and therefore sadly I have to assume that they are dead," Police Commander Stuart Cundy told reporters on Saturday, adding that the figure could change.

The confirmed death toll in the fire has risen to 30. The police chief said the figure of 58 included that toll given earlier.

"The figure of 30 that I gave yesterday is the number that I know, sadly, have, at least, died. So that 58 would include that 30," he said.

However, according to Britain's Press Association, up to 70 people, in addition to those who are confirmed dead, are still missing.

And, according to some local residents there were some 500 residents at the Grenfell Tower when the fire broke out on Wednesday morning, and they say that not many could escape because the blaze engulfed the entire building rapidly.

So, the residents are saying that the final death toll could be much higher than the figure what British authorities are giving. </s> London police say 58 people who were in Grenfell Tower are still missing and assumed to be dead.

Police Commander Stuart Cundy said Saturday that this number, which was based on reports from the public, may rise. He says it will take weeks or longer to recover and identify all the dead in the public housing block that was devastated by a fire early Wednesday.

He said there may have been people in the tower that police are not aware of, which would add to the death toll.

He says the search for remains had been paused because of safety concerns but has resumed. Emergency workers have reached the top of the 24-story tower.

Cundy promised an exhausting investigation into the tragedy. He says "my heart goes out to those affected."

Service on two London Underground lines were partially suspended because of concerns about the safety of the high-rise in the fire that killed at least 30 people.

London's fire department said that the reason for the subway closure near the high-rise fire disaster is because of a "short-term risk of some debris falling onto the tracks." </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption One eyewitness said he saw people blinking lights within the building

At least six people have died after a huge fire raged through the night at a west London 24-storey tower block, and police expect that number to rise.

Eyewitnesses described people trapped in the burning Grenfell Tower, in north Kensington, screaming for help and yelling for their children to be saved.

Firefighters, who rescued many people, were called at 00:54 BST and are still trying to put out the fire.

Police say there may still be people in the building who are unaccounted for.

The ambulance service said 68 patients had been taken to six hospitals across London, with 18 in critical care. A further 10 patients made their own way to hospital.

During the night, eyewitnesses said they saw lights - thought to be mobile phones or torches - flashing at the top of the block of flats, and trapped residents coming to their windows - some holding children.

It is understood that "several hundred" people would have been in the block when the fire broke out shortly after midnight, most of them sleeping.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Mickey, a resident of Grenfell Tower: 'It was like a horror movie'

Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Metropolitan Police, said the recovery operation would be "complex and lengthy", and the number of fatalities was expected to rise.

He declined to give any details of the number of people who may be missing.

He said it was likely to be some time before police could identify the victims, adding that it was too early to speculate on the cause of the fire.

An emergency number - 0800 0961 233 - has been set up for anyone concerned about friends or family.

At 13:00 BST, Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said firefighters expected to be on the scene for at least another 24 hours.

She said there were concerns that people were still inside the tower and she urged all residents to make sure they had reported themselves to police so that the authorities know they are safe.

'Absolutely appalling'

Prime Minister Theresa May is "deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life", said Downing Street.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt praised the "heroic" response from the emergency services and the NHS hospital staff "working tirelessly to help".

Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is to demand a government statement in Parliament on Thursday on the tragedy, the BBC understands.

There must be a "full inquiry" into the fire, newly-elected Kensington MP Emma Dent Coad told the BBC.

Speaking outside the Rugby Portobello Trust emergency centre, the Labour MP said the fire was "absolutely appalling".

"The ferocity of that fire was extraordinary and terrifying," she said. "This must never happen again."

Police and fire minister Nick Hurd was due to chair a cross-party meeting to look at how the government can assist the emergency services and local authorities.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption David Benjamin says he was woken by a neighbour banging on the door

Paul Munakr, who lives on the seventh floor, managed to escape.

"As I was going down the stairs, there were firefighters, truly amazing firefighters that were actually going upstairs, to the fire, trying to get as many people out the building as possible," he told the BBC.

He said he was alerted to the fire not by fire alarms but by people on the street below, shouting "don't jump, don't jump".

Eyewitness Jody Martin said: "I watched one person falling out, I watched another woman holding her baby out the window... hearing screams.

"I was yelling at everyone to get down and they were saying 'We can't leave our apartments, the smoke is too bad on the corridors.'"

Michael Paramasivan, who lives on the seventh floor with his girlfriend and young daughter, said he ignored official advice to stay in your home.

"If we had stayed in that flat, we would've perished. My gut instinct told me just to get the girls out. I wrapped the little one up because of the smoke and I just got them out."

Another resident, Zoe, who lives on the fourth floor, said she was woken by a neighbour banging on her door.

"The whole landing was thick with smoke. The smoke alarms weren't going off but the way it spread so quickly from the fourth floor, all the way up to the 23rd floor was scary."

At the scene

Image caption Mirna, Fatima and Zainnb are among those missing

By Lucy Manning, BBC News

They have lost their homes and for some, tragically their relatives.

At times there is the sound of sobbing as the word goes round that someone is missing, someone is feared dead.

I've spent the day inside the community centre where survivors have gathered.

Downstairs in the hall families sit at tables and wait for news.

One family told me they hadn't heard from their brother, sister and three children - Mirna, Fatima and Zainnb. Other relatives were out searching hospitals. There was still no news.

Outside the centre, Sawsan was with a group of women. For one it was too much, she was on the floor crying. Sawsan hasn't heard from her mum, sister, brother-in-law and nieces. She spoke to them when the fire started but nothing since.

Inside the centre, families are being helped with food, housing and medical treatment. It's busy and everyone is helping. Just not with the one thing they need - information about whether their relatives are safe.

Christabel told me how lucky her father had been. He tried to fight the fire but made it out alive.

Ed was saved when a friend called him to tell him to get out the building. "I'm lucky" he says. But they have lost everything.

Grenfell Tower, built in 1974, is part of the Lancaster West Estate, a sprawling inner-city social housing complex of almost 1,000 homes.

Robert Black, chief executive of the tower's management company, the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, said: "The fire at Grenfell Tower is devastating and the reports of injury and losses of life absolutely heartbreaking.

"Along with my colleagues, I have been supporting residents since the early hours, working with the emergency services and the community."

The BBC's Andy Moore, who was at the scene through the night, described watching debris falling from the building, and hearing explosions and breaking glass.

Grenfell Tower, North Kensington 127 flats

24 storeys

20 residential levels

4 mixed levels of community areas and residential flats

2016 refurbishment completed AFP

Image copyright PA Image caption London fire crews said it was a "large and very serious incident"

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption There are 120 flats in the residential block

The London Fire Brigade said a structural engineer had checked the building and determined it was not in danger of collapse and that rescue teams were safe to be inside.

Initially, it was feared that the building, which appears to be gutted, could collapse.

Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was devastated by the horrific scenes, attended by more than 250 firefighters and 100 ambulance medics.

Questions will need to be answered over the safety of tower blocks, he told BBC Radio.

"We can't have a situation where people's safety is put at risk because of bad advice being given or if it is the case, as has been alleged, of tower blocks not being properly serviced or maintained," he said.

Matt Wrack, of the Fire Brigades Union said something had clearly gone badly wrong with fire prevention procedures at the building.

Firefighters would normally fight a fire in a tower block from the inside, going up the fire escape, and fighting using the internal dry-rising mains, he said, but that's not been possible in this case.

Construction firm Rydon said recent building work which it carried out on the block "met all required building control, fire regulation and health and safety standards".

Image caption Refurbishment work completed in 2016 included more residential areas in the four lower 'podium' levels

Appeals are being made on social media for news of missing friends and relatives, who might have been caught in the blaze.

Emergency rest centres have opened for those now homeless at Latymer Community Centre, St Clement's Church, Harrow Club and Rugby Portobello Trust. There are also local collections under way for spare clothes, toys, blankets and toiletries.

People are being advised by police to stay away from the area, where roads remain closed and nearby residents have been evacuated as a precaution.

Image copyright EPA Image caption The London Fire Brigade said a structural engineer had checked the building

Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption More than 70 people have received treatment in hospital

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Smoke could be seen from miles away

Safety concerns

Grenfell Tower underwent a two-year £10m refurbishment as part of a wider transformation of the estate, that was completed last year.

Work included new exterior cladding and a communal heating system.

The 24-storey tower, containing about 120 flats, is managed by the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) on behalf of the council.

Before and during the refurbishment, the local Grenfell Action Group claimed that the block constituted a fire risk and residents warned that site access for emergency vehicles was "severely restricted".

Construction firm Rydon, which carried out the refurbishment, said it was "shocked to hear of the devastating fire" and added that the work "met all required building control, fire regulation and health and safety standards".

Council leader Nick Paget-Brown said the buildings were regularly inspected, but a "thorough investigation" was needed.

Read more on safety concerns here.

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The suspected death toll of the fire in North Kensington, London earlier in the week significantly increases, as the Metropolitan Police Service reports that a minimum of 58 people are missing and feared dead.