At least 12 dead after inferno rips through London apartment block
More than 200 firefighters battled the massive blaze in Grenfell Tower. Photo: AP
At least 12 people are dead, 74 others injured and dozens more trapped inside a London high-rise still smouldering after a huge blaze engulfed the tower in the dead of night.
And as authorities wait to fully examine the building, accusations are already being made that new cladding installed on the outside of the block is to blame for the severity of the fire.
“Sadly I can confirm that there are now 12 people that have died that we know of,” Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy told reporters Thursday morning (AEST).
“This is going to be a long and complex recovery operation and I do anticipate that the number of fatalities will sadly increase beyond those 12.”
Commander Cundy said many people were still unaccounted for adding: “sadly, I don’t anticipate there will be further survivors.”
Witnesses recounted heart wrenching scenes as burning residents jumped from the building’s upper floors and parents attempted to save children by dropping them from windows to emergency crews.
The London Fire Brigade said a structural engineer and rescue crews had assessed the stability of the building and believed it was not in danger of collapse.
It is unclear how many people were inside the building when the fire broke out, but the tower has around 130 flats and houses more than 200 people, according to UK media reports.
Authorities say they have no idea how many people are unaccounted for and it may be days before a final death toll is known.
Footage on social media showed the flames on most floors, with witnesses reporting seeing people trapped in their units, while others were forced to jump from the apartment block, some from as high as 15 floors.
“There were people jumping,” a witness told BBC television.
“I think at that point it was a case of jump, and you’re going to get hurt, or get engulfed by the flames,” she said.
The unidentified woman also said she saw people attempting to drop their children out of the windows of the burning building, as high as the ninth floor.
Others residents were seen to have made ropes out of sheets to try to escape the inferno.
London Ambulance Service said that 74 people were being treated in hospital with “20 people in critical care”.
People were reportedly treated for a range of injuries, including smoke inhalation.
The block had recently undergone an STG8.7 million ($A14.6 million) refurbishment of its exterior, which included new external cladding, replacement windows and curtain wall facades.
Many are blaming the new cladding for the rapid spread of the fire throughout the building.
“The cladding was clearly spreading the fire,” Conservative MP Mike Penning, who worked as a firefighter and then fire minister, was quoted as saying by The Independent newspaper.
“We need to find out what went on.”
Grenfell Tower resident Paul Mennacer said he was woken up by people screaming “Don’t jump”.
“There was black smoke coming at me and my instinct told me ‘Just grab your shoes and run out’, he was quotes as saying.
“It was the cladding that was on fire and that’s what was burning, people believe that it was the cladding.”
Surviving residents also say the sprinklers throughout the building failed to deploy and the fire alarms were not sounding.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said the fire raised questions over safety of high-rise blocks like Grenfell Tower.
“Across London we have many, many tower blocks and what we can’t have is 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 told BBC radio.
A ‘proper investigation’
British Prime Minister Theresa May has promised a “proper investigation” following the Grenfell Tower fire, saying that if any lessons are to be learned they will be, and “action will be taken”.
Ms May paid tribute to the efforts of the emergency services and said support should be given to the hundreds affected by the fire.
“There are people tonight who have no home to go to, they have lost absolutely everything, so our focus must be on support to them,: she said from Downing Street.
“In due course, when the scene is secure, when it’s possible to identify the cause of this fire, then of course there will be proper investigation and if there are any lessons to be learnt they will be, and action will be taken.”
Witnesses describe horror of blazing inferno
Khalid Sarang, 23, lives in a neighbouring block and described it as “hell on earth”.
“I have friends who live on the top floor and I can’t get them on the phone,” Mr Sarang told The Sun newspaper.
“There is a family of four trapped up there now screaming.
“The first thing I heard were the screams and I came running out.
“It’s like hell on earth.”
Firefighters at the scene of Grenfell Tower fire. Photo: Getty
One witness said she heard people screaming and could see residents flashing their phone lights inside the building.
They've managed to put some of it out now. #GrenFellTower #GrenfellTowerFire #london #fire #kensington pic.twitter.com/ePLJgTPVJ8
— ✯ Natalie ✯ (@Vampicca) June 14, 2017
On Wednesday morning local time, Portobello resident Marion Gettleson, 70, was handing out free sandwiches to people gathered outside the local rugby club and was angry at the local council following the disaster.
“My reaction was; ‘This was a tragedy waiting to happen’, she told AAP.
London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner Dan Daly called it “a large and very serious incident”.
The block is approximately 8km from central London and was built in 1974 as part of the Lancaster West Estate.
The building was also the subject of warnings of fire risk by a group called Grenfell Action Group in 2016.
The Australian High Commission in London is making inquiries to determine whether any Australians have been affected by the fire.
Firefighters continue to work extremely hard at the scene of #NorthKensington tower block fire https://t.co/QYF9V38wWJ pic.twitter.com/GJqaJV3H0i
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) June 14, 2017
-with agencies
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