Firefighters were reportedly struggling to contain a massive fire at a high-rise apartment building in west London, Wednesday morning. Amidst fears that people might still be trapped inside, an official said there are still unconfirmed numbers of fatalities.
Dany Cotton, the Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade reportedly said that there were “a number of fatalities,” but he cannot give out specific details as operation in the building was still ongoing.
"In my 29 years of firefighting I have seen nothing of this scale," Cotton stated.
According to the officials, the fire had spread from the second floor up to the 27th floor of the building, which contains 130 residential flats.
40 fire engines, 200 firefighters and 20 ambulances were sent to the scene. Moreover, police authorities have confirmed that residents continue to evacuate the said building. For now, the cause of fire is still unknown. As of 6 in the morning, the fire reportedly continue to rage.
More than 50 patients sent to hospitals
The London Ambulance Service stated that it had taken more than 50 patients to different hospitals across the London.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, posted on Twitter announcing that a major incident has been declared.
Major incident declared at Grenfell Tower in Kensington. 40 fire engines & 200 firefighters at the scene - follow @LondonFire for updates.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) June 14, 2017
Kensington and Chelsea councilor, Nick Paget-Brown told the media that several hundred people would have been in the Grenfell Tower when the massive fire broke out.
He also confirmed the number of apartments in the newly-renovated tower and addressed concerns of fire safety and said that all the council blocks were inspected regularly.
Terrifying scenes at Grenfell Tower
CNN reported that witnesses saw people jumping from the windows and people screaming for help in order to escape from the deadly fire.
According to the actor and writer Tim Downie, who happened to live around 600 meters away from the scene, feared that the block may collapse. He also posted photos on his official Twitter account regarding the incident.
Raging fire in Grenfell Tower near Latimer Road. Whole block of 24 floors up in flames. People still trapped inside. Horrendous. pic.twitter.com/J7UO321yIP
— Tim Downie (@TimDownie1) June 14, 2017
He reportedly said that he saw people coming out bringing clothes, water and anything they can from their homes.
He added that he felt distressed from the scene.
London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Dan Daly also stated that several firefighters were working extremely hard in the scene to tackle the fire but he assured the people that they have deployed numerous specialist and resources to attend to the very difficult and serious incident.
