12 killed as inferno tears through 24-storey tower An inferno tore through a London apartment block
An inferno tore through a London apartment block

An inferno tore through a London apartment block

LONDON. – At least 12 people perished yesterday and many more are still missing after a massive inferno tore through a London apartment block, with witnesses reporting terrified people had leapt from the 24-storey tower.

As smoke continued to billow from the charred building, survivors voiced anger over long standing safety fears at the Grenfell Tower, which was home to between 600 and 800 people.

Parents wrapped wet towels around their children as they tried to escape, with others seen desperately waving for help from the higher floors. “I can confirm six fatalities at this time but this figure is likely to rise,” said police commander Stuart Cundy, describing the fire as “truly shocking”.

Seventy-four people were being treated in hospitals, 20 of whom are in a critical condition. The alarm was raised just before 1am and within an hour, flames had engulfed the entire block of 120 flats, which is home to between 600 and 800 people.

More than 200 fire fighters had been tackling the blaze and 12 hours on, the building was still smoking. Large pieces of debris fell from the wrecked building, a 1970s local authority-built block in the working-class area of north Kensington, just streets away from the wealthy homes of Notting Hill.

Residents claimed the fire spread on the exterior of the tower, which had been covered in cladding in a major refurbishment completed last year.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said fire fighters had only able to reach the 12th floor at the height of the blaze. “A lot of people are unaccounted for,” he told Sky News television.

The London Fire Brigade said the cause of the fire was under investigation, but chief Dany Cotton said she had “never seen anything on this scale”. She said the building’s structure was stable enough for fire crews to scale inside, searching for survivors.

Witnesses said they heard screaming from the upper floors as the flames raced up the tower. “I saw people jumping out of their windows,” Khadejah Miller, who was evacuated from her home nearby, told AFP. Adi Estu (32) who lives nearby and took refuge in a church with her husband and nine-month-old son, said: “I saw people flashing their lights for help, families flashing their mobile phones like a torch. But the smoke covered them.

“We saw them dying.” Salah Chebiouni (45) who escaped from his ninth-floor flat with his wife and two children, said he was in his kitchen when “I saw fire outside my window”.

Prime Minister Theresa May said she was “deeply saddened” by the situation and has called an emergency meeting to coordinate the response to the fire, which comes just 11 days after eight people were killed in a terror attack on London Bridge and nearby Borough Market.

May faced further delays in forming her new government after a failed election gamble when her would-be allies said their agreement would be put back following the blaze. – AFP.

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey