Twelve people are confirmed dead after a fire engulfed Grenfell Tower, a high-rise apartment block in West London, which started and rapidly spread on Tuesday night.
READ MORE: People trapped in huge west London tower block inferno – reports
14 June 2017
More than £145,000 ($184,000) has been raised by a series of GofundMe campaigns set up to help people affected by the tragic tower block fire.
A “considerable number of people” were in Grenfell Tower when the blaze erupted on Tuesday night, said police.
Emergency services continue the search for residents as the number of people unaccounted for is yet unknown.
The Metropolitan police (MET) has confirmed the death toll from the Grenfell Tower inferno has risen to 12.
Met police commander Stuart Cundy said the death toll is likely to rise further as he does not "think any more survivors will be found".
Cundy said the incident in North Kensington would entail a “long and complex recovery operation”, but that almost all the tower block- which is thought to be the residence of between 400 and 600 people- has now been searched.
The London Fire Brigade said 250 firefighters and 40 engines “at its height” were fighting to block the blaze for dozens of hours.
The force said fire was unprecedented in “scale, speed and spread” and that forces will stay at the scene throughout the night as the incident remains “live” and “challenging”.
The Metropolitan police (MET) has confirmed the death toll from the Grenfell Tower inferno has risen to 12, saying it is likely the number of fatalities will increase further.
Labour’s newly-elected MP for Kensington and Chelsea, Emma Dent Coad, said there should be a “full inquiry” into the Grenfell Tower.
Speaking outside Rugby Portobello Trust emergency centre, Dent Coad told the BBC the fire was “absolutely appalling” and that questions must be asked about Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organization and the council’s response.
The London Ambulance Service said 69 people have been taken to hospital, while a further 10 made their own way.
Up to 18 remain in a critical condition.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has praised emergency services for their response to the Grenfell Tower blaze that killed at least six people since it broke out on Tuesday night.
House of Commons speaker John Bercow has extended his condolences to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.
He said although Parliament cannot examine the event as normal, as it is not currently in session, ministers would still be meeting.
The Royal London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has tweeted that substantial support will be given to anyone involved in the Grenfell Tower blaze.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he is “totally shocked” by events in West London and that the Grenfell Tower fire is the “worst nightmare.”
He expressed “sympathy, support and solidarity” for all those involved and thanked emergency services for their prompt response to a “huge and very dangerous undertaking.”
He stressed the importance of having safety regulations and sprinkler systems in place, highlighting comments made by Harriet Harman, Labour MP for Camberwell, who pointed out “if you cut local authority expenditure the price is paid somewhere.”
Several firefighters tackling the Grenfell Tower blaze have been hurt, according to London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton.
“Unfortunately, a number of firefighters have been injured but fortunately only with minor injuries, which, considering the scale and the number of my firefighters have been involved and how hard they have worked, is a testament to their professionalism and dedication,” she said.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will demand a government statement on the Grenfell Tower incident during a House of Commons session on Thursday, despite Parliament not currently sitting, the BBC understands.
Corbyn will ask Cabinet Office ministers to face MPs and answer questions about the tragedy that has claimed the lives of at least six people.
Residents of Grenfell Tower were reportedly told to stay indoors as fire spread.
Mohammed, who attended the scene of the blaze at Grenfall Tower, told the BBC people had been told to stay in the building.
"Even when I got there I was surprised to see there were people just looking out the window down to us,” he told BBC Radio 5.
“Someone told me they had been told to stay in the building until they contained that little bit”.
One witness of the Grenfell Tower fire told RT UK reporter Joana Ramiro there was “no fire alarm, no sprinkler and only one way out.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her solidarity with families of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire, and praised emergency services for their “heroic” rescue service.
Fire brigade officers had visited Grenfell Tower for checks on Saturday, according to residents.
“They told us the protocol is to close your door because the fire door will withstand the heat for a duration of time,” one resident told the BBC.
If they had listened to the fire brigade’s advice and chosen to shut themselves in, “we could be dead by now.”
In a press statement, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said his “thoughts and prayers” are with those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.
He paid tribute to the “amazing” work of emergency services, saying it is “worth reminding ourselves” that they are “running towards the danger whilst encouraging others to go away.”
Khan said he is afraid the number of deaths is “likely” to rise.
He also said the cause of the fire must be investigated, and that lesson must be learned if mistakes have been made.
Speaking alongside the Mayor, London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton called the fire “unprecedented.” Cotton, who has been a London firefighter since the age of 18, said she has never “seen a fire of this nature.”
There are concerns people may still be trapped inside the building, and that forces will be dealing with the incident for at least the next 24 hours, she added. The causes of the fire will be looked at “closely.”
RT UK reporter Joana Ramiro has been tweeting from the scene:
Queens Park Rangers (QPR) football club, whose grounds are on nearby Loftus Road, have offered to help people evacuated from Grenfell Tower.
They have offered up their grounds as a “relief centre” for emergency services and victims of the incident, and as a “drop-off” spot for clothes and provisions, according to a spokesman.
Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone has called for all tower blocks to be “re-examined” to make sure they are “fit for purpose”.
Speaking to Emma Barnett on BBC Radio 5 live Daily, Mr Livingstone said: "50 years on it's a very different world… we need very much tougher regulation."
He also criticized the “stay put” policy in place at Grenfell Tower for fire emergencies, and said: "Being told, 'stay in the building and you'll be rescued' - I'm not certain that's a good idea at all. I think you need to ensure that, if possible, people get out," he said.
Downing Street has issued a statement on the fire.
“The Prime Minister is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in the Grenfell Tower and is being kept constantly updated on the situation,” the statement reads.
Theresa May has called for a cross-government meeting on Wednesday at 4pm to co-ordinate a response.
“The PM's thoughts are with all of those affected by this terrible incident and the emergency services, who are working tirelessly in very difficult circumstances,” the statement added.
London Ambulance Service says it has taken up to 64 people to six different hospitals across London following the Grenfell Tower fire. Some 22 are in critical care, Reuters reports.
Ten further individuals made their own way to hospital, bringing the total number of reported injuries to 74.
Reports of injuries and deaths in the blaze at the Grenfell Tower are “absolutely heartbreaking,” said Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management (KCTM), which owns the tower.
It follows accusations of negligence against KCTM, as residents had for several years complained about safety procedures.
A blog post from the Grenfell Action Group in November 2016 said only a “catastrophic event” would expose residents’ safety issues.
Following the blaze on Wednesday, the group posted: “All our warnings fell on deaf ears and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time.”
Grenfell Tower has a “stay put” policy for residents in case of fire, according to the Press Association. This could mean a number of residents missed the opportunity to safely evacuate when the alarm was first raised.
At least six people have been confirmed dead, say the Metropolitan Police.
"We can confirm six fatalities at this time following the fire in North Kensington in the early hours of this morning, Wednesday, 14 June.
"These are very early stages and we do expect that figure to rise."
The London Fire Brigade said the tower is not in danger of collapsing.
“Our specialist urban search and rescue crews and a structural engineer have checked the building and said that it is not in danger of collapsing and that it is safe for our crews to be in there.”
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union said there will have to be a “thorough investigation” as it should “not (be) possible” for a blaze to “develop in such way.”
He told Sky News he’s never seen anything like it in his entire career.
The Notting Dale ward councillor Judith Blakeman, who lives across the road from Grenfell Tower, said between 400 and 600 residents live in the building, Sky News reports.
Five hospitals are treating 50 people from the Grenfell Tower fire.
They are St Mary’s, Chelsea and Westminster, Royal Free, St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital, according to the NHS England.
The announcement of the deal between Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has been postponed following the Grenfell Tower fire in London.
Sources from the Northern Irish party have confirmed the deal, designed to guarantee the Prime Minister enough support in the House of Commons to pass legislation, will not be announced on Wednesday, despite 95 percent of the arrangement being agreed upon.
A woman trapped in the Grenfell Tower blaze reportedly threw her baby out of the window, according to the Press Association.
Witness Samira Lamrani said she saw a woman throwing her baby from the “ninth or tenth floor” in a desperate attempt to save the child’s life, as members of the public waited below to catch it.
She said: “The windows were slightly ajar, a woman was gesturing that she was about to throw her baby and if somebody could catch her baby.
“Somebody did, a gentleman ran forward and managed to grab the baby.”
She could see an “endless number of people” trapped in the building.
She told them emergency services had been called, but their faces had a “look of death,” she said.
The sound of kids shouting for help is what “will remain with me for a long time.”
“I could hear them screaming for their lives,” she added.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has given an update on the Grenfell Tower incident.
"My thoughts are with those people affected. We are talking 120 flats. More than 50 people have been taken to five hospitals across London. We are trying to rescue as many residents from the tower block as we can,” he said.
But he added that people should “appreciate” that while it may be for perfectly normal reasons, some residents are still unaccounted for.
He praised the “incredibly brave” fire and emergency services.
At this stage our “priority” today is “search and rescue and then recovery”.
The Mayor added that questions had to be answered as to what caused the deadly blaze, while adding that cuts have hindered local authorities’ resources.
London Commissioner Dany Cotton said the incident at Grenfell Tower is “very serious and a very complex fire.”
She said forces have been “working tirelessly” to extinguish the fire and rescue anyone inside.
Cotton said the cause of the fire will be investigated, but that it would be “wrong to speculate around the cause” right now, adding it is a “very dynamic incident.”
The commissioner thanked all those who have been involved and sent her “sincere condolences” to victims of this “terrible incident.”
Local resident Moira Samuels told the BBC she and other residents had been worried about the impact of austerity of public safety.
“We do worry about the closure of fire stations that actually [former Mayor] Boris Johnson has implemented right across London, and what impact that is having on the support services to actually deal with a disaster like this.”
London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said emergency services are “still working very hard” and that they “rescued large numbers” very early on “across a range of different floors.”
While unable to state the number of casualties involved, she said that “steady progress” is being made “in going through the whole building.”
The commissioner called on all displace residents to report to police so that forces may account for those still missing who could potentially still be trapped in the building.
She added that forces had managed to reach the 19th and 20th floor.
Fire crews have only been able to reach as far as the 19th and 20th floors of Grenfell Tower, the London Fire Brigade Commissioner says.
There are reports of residents on the roof and upper floors unable to escape.
London Fire Brigade commissioner says a structural engineer is monitoring the stability of Grenfell Tower after it was gutted by fire.
There are fears it could collapse, damaging neighboring buildings. It is thought to be safe for now.
A witness at the scene says they saw a man jump from the 16th or 17th floor of Grenfell Tower after becoming trapped in the blaze.
London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton has issued a statement, confirming a number of fatalities. She says the cause of the fire is still unknown:
“This is an unprecedented situation, with a major fire that has affected all floors of this 24 storey building, from the second floor up.
“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 in attendance.
“Based on the level of resource that were needed at this fire we declared it a major incident in the early hours of this morning.
“London Fire Brigade’s Control room took multiple calls to this incident, with the first received at 00.54am.
“First fire crews were on site in under six minutes.
“Crews wearing breathing apparatus have been working in extremely difficult conditions to rescue people and bring this major fire under control.
“London Ambulance Service have confirmed that a number of people have been taken to five hospitals.
“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 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.”
“Further information for the public will be made available shortly, including advice for those concerned about those they are worried about and the emergency services will be working with all agencies, including the local authority to support all of those affected by this incident.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the safety of tower blocks is an issue to be dealt with following the Grenfell Tower incident.
“These questions are really important questions that need to be answered,” Khan told BBC Radio.
“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.”
Previously, emerging media reports suggested the Grenfell Tower residents had been advised to stay inside their flats in the event of fire and wait for fire brigades to arrive.
An airline passenger has tweeted a video allegedly showing the Grenfell Tower fire. The huge trail of smoke has been clearly visible from the inside an aircraft traveling over the London area.
The Metropolitan Police also said there are fatalities among Grenfell Tower residents, asking Londoners to contact the Casualty Bureau to get information on their loved ones. “It is likely to take some time before we are in a position to confirm the cause of the fire," police said in a statement.
The number of people receiving medical care has risen to 50, the London Ambulance Service said. Earlier, the fire commissioner and Metropolitan police confirmed that there are fatalities, though the exact number is yet to be established.
London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said in a preliminary statement there have been a number of fatalities following the Grenfell Tower fire. At this stage, she said, it is impossible to report the exact number of those killed in the fire due to the size and complexity of the building. The cause of the fire has also not been established.
A nightmarish aerial image of the Grenfell Tower fire has been published by Sky News, with plumes of smoke spreading all over the neighborhood.
The London Fire Brigade has also posted a photo showing the top of Grenfell Tower burnt out, with the blackened walls in flames.
Areas around the Grenfell Tower have been cordoned off and around 30 adjacent flats have been evacuated by police, London Fire Brigade has said.
Earlier, Metropolitan Police informed residents the A40 was closed in both directions to allow emergency vehicles access to the area.
Photos and videos posted by Londoners on Twitter suggest the incident in West London is far from over, as Grenfell Tower is still burning, producing pillars of thick smoke.
People on social media say residents used bed sheets as makeshift ropes to escape the building.
Some residents evacuated from the tower are being taken care of at several makeshift shelters. Saint Clement Church and Saint James Church, located near Notting Dale, Notting Hill, North Kensington, and Holland Park, are receiving evacuees, local people say on Twitter.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said 200 firefighters and 40 vehicles were dispatched to the scene. He also confirmed he is in close contact with all services called in to deal with the emergency.
The London Ambulance Service says is has taken 30 patients to five adjacent hospitals following the fire in West London, and 20 ambulance crews as well as trauma and hazardous area response teams are now operating in the vicinity of the Grenfell Tower.
Eyewitness accounts have been pouring in, with reports claiming women and children were among those trapped on the burning floors.
A video uploaded by RT’s Ruptly video agency clearly shows a man opening a window close to a scorched and burning side of the building on one of the upper floors.
The fire, which broke out at around 1am, is believed to have started on the 4th floor, reportedly due to a faulty fridge, RT UK’s correspondent Eisa Ali reports from the scene.
Posting an update via Skype at 5am London time, Ali reported that people were still visibly trapped on some of the floors.
A sizeable number of the block’s residents are Muslim, and many might have been out of the building as it is during the holy month of Ramadan, Ali suggested. However, many others were still reportedly inside when the fire started, he added.