Deaths reported in London tower fire, Mayor feels 'devastated'
London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said in a statement: "At this time I am sad to confirm that we now know that there have been fatalities. I cannot confirm the number at this time and as you will appreciate with a fire of this size, affecting such a large building it would be unhelpful of me to speculate further."
The cause of the fire is still not known.
"The cause of the fire is not known at this stage, and clearly we will be here all day and will be in a providing further updates, working with the police and ambulance service," Dany Cotton said.
Over 200 firefighters and officers are attending this incident, with 40 fire engines and a range of other specialist vehicles, including 14 fire rescue units are currently in attendance.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was completely devastated by the fire incident.
"I'm truly devastated to see the horrific scenes of the major fire at Grenfell Tower in Kensington. I have been in constant contact throughout the night with the Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, Dany Cotton, who has been at the scene," Khan posted on his Facebook page.
"My heart goes out to everyone affected. I am sad to confirm that we now know there have been fatalities and more than fifty people have been taken to hospitals including Royal Free, King’s, St Thomas’s, St Mary’s and Chelsea and Westminster to be treated for injuries. The fire service is dealing with a rapidly changing situation and these numbers are likely to rise," he said.
Eyewitnesses told they saw people trapped in the building.
The trapped people were screaming for help.
The 24-storey- building is still on fire and rescue operation is going on.
Paul Munakr, who lives on the seventh floor, told BBC: "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."
Construction of the Grenfell Tower commenced in 1972 and completed in 1974 as part of Stage 1 of the Lancasterr road West redevelopment project.
Emergency number for anyone with concerns about casualties is 0800 0961 233.
Image: London Fire Brigade Facebook page
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