Blaze leaves trail of sadness

Massive fire tears through block of flats in London

London – A massive fire tore through a 27-storey apartment block in London before dawn yesterday causing fatalities and injuring dozens, with terrified residents trapped inside.

London Fire Brigade chief Dany Cotton said there had been “a number of fatalities” in what she called an “unprecedented” blaze.

“I cannot confirm the number at this time due to the size and complexity of this building,” she said at the scene in West London.

“This is an unprecedented incident. In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never ever seen anything of this scale,” she said.

The ambulance service said 50 people had been hospitalised. Witnesses said they had seen some people fall or jump from the stricken Grenfell Tower and at least one resident waving a piece of white cloth from one of the upper floors as flames ravaged the building.

The alarm was raised just before 1am and within an hour flames had engulfed the entire block, which contains 120 flats.

Nearly 10 hours on, flames could still be seen inside the charred building as thick, black smoke filled the sky.

London mayor Sadiq Khan said firefighters were only able to reach the 12th floor at the height of the blaze during the night. “A lot of people are unaccounted for,” he told Sky News.

Cotton said the building’s structural integrity was being monitored and it was stable enough for fire crews to work inside.

“We rescued a large number of people from inside the building very early on,” she said, adding tha t she had spoken to firefighters who had reached the 19th and 20th floors.

Witnesses said they heard screaming from the upper floors as the flames raced up the tower in the night.

“I have seen it with my own eyes. And I have seen people jump,” Hanan Wahabi said. She escaped with her husband, son and daughter, but feared for her brother and his family who live on the 21st floor.

“[The] Last time I saw him they were waving out of the window, his wife and children,” she said.

The apartment block was built in 1974, but had recently undergone a major refurbishment, including a new heating and hot water system.

Local residents had warned a year ago about a potential fire risk caused by rubbish being allowed to accumulate during the improvement works.

‘ ‘ I have seen it with my own eyes. And I have seen people jump