Deadly fire engulfs London apartment block, delays PM’s power deal
At least six people were killed Wednesday when a massive fire to re through a London apartment block in the middle of the night, with witnesses reporting terrified people had leapt from the 24- story tower.
Parents wrapped wet towels around their children as they desperately tried to escape from the Grenfell Tower, with at least one person seen waving a piece of white cloth from an upper floor as fl ames ravaged the building.
“I can confirm six fatalities at this time but this figure is likely to rise during what will be a complex recovery operation over a number of days,” said police commander Stuart Cundy, describing the fire as“truly shocking .”
The ambulance service said 50 people had been hospitalized.
The alarm was raised just before 1: 00 am and within an hour fl ames had engulfed the entire block.
Residents claimed the fire was spreading on the exterior of the tower, which had been covered in cladding in a major refurbishment completed last year.
More than 10 hours on, fl ames could still be seen inside the charred building as thick, black smoke filled the sky.
London Mayor SadiqKh an said firefighters were only able to reach the 12 th floor at the height of the blaze.
“A lot of people are unaccounted for,” he told Sky News television.
The tower block blaze also delayed British Prime Minister Theresa May’s power deal with Northern Ireland in forming her new government.
The Conservative leader lost her parliamentary majority in last week’s election and is now desperately seeking the backing of the 10 MPs from Northern Ireland’s ultra- conservative Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP).
EU leaders have voiced growing impatience to start Brexit negotiations, which have already been delayed by the parliamentary election – and on which the clock is ticking.
An initial round of talks between May and DUP leader Arlene Foster ended with no agreement on Tuesday, although both sides said they were hopeful of a deal.
“The talks are continuing but I think the events in London today probably will have some impact on that. I think it’s unlikely there will be any announcement today,” a DUP spokesman told AFP.