UpdateLondon inferno: at least 12 dead with toll expected to rise after massive fire engulfs Grenfell Tower
Local residents had warned a year ago about a potential fire risk caused by rubbish being allowed to accumulate during improvement works at the public housing apartment block
Fire engulfed a 24-storey housing block in central London in the early hours on Wednesday, killing at least12 people and injuring dozens more others in an inferno that trapped residents as they slept.
Flames raced through the high-rise Grenfell Tower block of apartments in the north Kensington area after taking hold around 1:00 am and witnesses reported some residents screaming for help from windows of upper floors and others trying to throw children to safety.
More than 200 firefighters, backed up by 40 fire engines, fought for hours to try to bring the blaze, one of the biggest seen in central London in memory, under control.
“There are now 12 people that have died that we know of,” police commander Stuart Cundy told reporters at the scene.
“I do anticipate that the number of fatalities will sadly increase” he said, adding that he did not expect fire crews hunting through the debris to find any survivors.
Seventy-eight people were being treated in hospitals, 18 of whom were in a critical condition.
Cundy said a “recovery operation” could take some time and there could be people in the building who are unaccounted for, though he would not be drawn on a figure.