London firefighters fight massive apartment building fire fearing some might be trapped inside

45 fire engines and over 200 firefighters were called to the scene.

The fire involved a 27 story Grenfell Tower building in the North Kensington area.

Two people have been treated on the scene, but no other injuries are reported. Firefighters fear there may be others trapped inside. </s> LONDON: A massive fire ripped through a 27-storey apartment block in west London in the early hours of Wednesday, police and fire services said.

Witnesses could hear screaming from the upper floors as the flames rose and one desperate resident could be seen waving a white cloth.

Forty fire engines and 200 firefighters had been called to the Grenfell Tower apartment block which has 120 residential units and was built in 1974.

A statement from the brigade said the fire started from the second storey of the building and spread to the top.

Police said in a statement they were called at 1:16am (0016 GMT) "to reports of a large fire at a block of flats in the Lancaster West Estate".

"Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus are working extremely hard in very difficult conditions to tackle this fire," London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Dan Daly said. "This is a large and very serious incident and we have deployed numerous resources and specialist appliances."

Images and videos from the scene have been circulating on social media showing the huge flames.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted that a "major incident" has been declared at Grenfell Tower in Kensington.

A person was seen at a window of the residential tower block in the early hours, as firefighters tackled the blaze.

Witnesses said they heard screams for help from inside the building, The Guardian reported.

Actor and writer Tim Downie, who lives nearby, said: "It's horrendous. The whole building is engulfed in flames. It's gone. It's just a matter of time before this building collapses".

The BBC reported debris falling from the building and that explosions were heard along with the sounds of glass breaking.

Local residents had warned a year ago about a potential fire risk caused by rubbish being allowed to accumulate during improvement works.

"This matter is of particular concern as there is only one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower during the improvement works," read a blog post by the Greenfell Action Group.

"The potential for a fire to break out in the communal area on the walkway does not bear thinking about as residents would be trapped in the building with no way out," it said. </s> More than 200 firefighters are battling a giant blaze in a high-rise tower block in West London.

Photos posted to social media showed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate engulfed in flames.

Forty fire engines were sent to the scene.

More than 200 people live in the tower.

Authorities said at least two people were currently being treated for smoke inhalation.

More to come. </s> A massive fire engulfed a residential high-rise building in London on Wednesday, leaving at least 74 people injured and 12 dead.

The London Fire Brigade dispatched at least 40 fire engines, 20 ambulance crews and more than 200 firefighters in an effort to battle the conflagration, at the 24-story Grenfell Tower in West London.

Authorities said they are monitoring the stability of the charred structure, but that firefighters have managed to search "most" of the building for remaining people.

The Metropolitan Police Service confirmed the rising death toll at a press conference Wednesday night.

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

As of 11:45 a.m. local time Wednesday, 64 people were transported to six hospitals across London for a range of injuries related to the fire, and 20 of them are in critical condition. An additional 10 people made their own way to hospitals, bringing the total of those treated to 74, according to London Ambulance Service director of operations Paul Woodrow.

"Over 100 of our medics have been working hard to respond to this incident, including ambulance crews, advanced paramedics, advanced trauma teams from London's Air Ambulance and those staff managing the incident in our special operations center," Woodrow said in a statement late Wednesday morning. "Our hazardous area response teams are also on scene, who carry specialist equipment, including breathing apparatus. We've been treating patients for a range of injuries as well as for smoke inhalation."

PHOTO: Smoke billows from a fire that has engulfed the 24-story Grenfell Tower in west London, June 14, 2017. (Victoria Jones/PA via AP Photo) More

It is not known yet what caused the blaze, which firefighters continue to battle. The fire has left the building almost totally charred, and there were fears in the morning about the building's structural integrity, as it appeared to lean slightly to one side.

The tower, built in 1974, contains 120 apartments, according to its management company, Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation.

One resident told ABC News that he woke up smelling smoke and thought his laptop was overheating. He said it seemed as if the fire had been burning for at least 30 minutes before the building's fire alarms went off.

The resident, who said he was initially told to stay in place, said he fled the building once he realized how thick the smoke was. Regrettably, he said, he was unable to carry his elderly father and fears that he may not have survived.

London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner Dan Daly said in a statement that "firefighters wearing breathing apparatus are working extremely hard in very difficult conditions to tackle this fire. This is a large and very serious incident, and we have deployed numerous resources and specialist appliances."

In this photo taken from aerial video, smoke rises from a high-rise apartment building on fire in London, Wednesday, June 14, 2017. A massive fire raced through the 27-story high-rise apartment building in west London early Wednesday, sending at leas (The Associated Press) More

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was "truly devastated" and warned that the numbers of dead and injured could increase.

"My heart goes out to everyone affected. I am sad to confirm that we now know there have been fatalities and more than 50 people have been taken to hospitals," he said in a statement early Wednesday. "The fire service is dealing with a rapidly changing situation and these numbers [of dead and injured] are likely to rise."

The Metropolitan Police Service said that at 1:16 a.m. local time it received "reports of a large fire at a block of flats in the Lancaster West Estate, W11."

Some social media users posted photos and videos of the fire as it continued to rage after sunrise, and others posted images of loved ones who are unaccounted for.

PHOTO: Firefighters battle a massive fire that raged in a high-rise apartment building in London, June 14, 2017. (Matt Dunham/AP Photo) More

Story continues </s> A number of people are dead after a huge blaze devastated a 24-storey apartment block in west London. At least 200 firefighters and 40 engines are on the scene of a massive fire at Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, near Notting Hill </s> London — Firefighters were battling a massive fire and evacuating residents from a burning 27-storey building in London early on Wednesday morning.

One side of the building appeared to be in flames, and 45 fire engines and 200 firefighters were called to the scene.

The London Fire Brigade tweeted that the fire involved the second to the top floor and a number of people were being treated for a range of injuries.

The building is the Grenfell Tower in the North Kensington area.

George Clarke, the presenter of television show Amazing Spaces, told Radio 5 Live he was covered in ash even though he was 100 metres from the scene.

He said he saw people waving flashlights from the top levels of the building and saw rescuers "doing an incredible job" trying to get people out. </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> 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.

Get news from the BBC in your inbox, each weekday morning </s> 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.
A large fire consumes the 24-storey Grenfell Tower apartment block in North Kensington, West London, with the entire building evacuated and over 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters battling the blaze. At least 17 people are dead and more people are treated for injuries, with more people possibly being trapped inside.