12 die in London inferno

Trapped residents bang on windows, desperately scream for help

London, June 14: A fastmoving overnight fire engulfed a 24-storey apartment tower in London on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 74 others, police said. Desperately trying to avoid the flames, residents threw one baby and other small children from high windows to people down on the sidewalk, witnesses said.

The inferno lit up the night sky and spewed black smoke from the windows of the Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, where more than 200 firefighters battled the blaze. The smoke stretched for miles across the sky, revealing the blackened, flame-licked wreckage of the building, which was still burning over 12 hours later.

People trapped by the advancing flames and thick smoke banged on windows and screamed for help, witnesses and survivors said. One resident said the fire alarm did not go off — bolstering the arguments of a community group, which only months ago had warned of a potential catastrophe at the subsidized housing block.

“I have never seen anything like it, it just reminded me of 9/11,” said Muna Ali, 45. “The fire started on the upper floors ... oh my goodness, it spread so quickly. It had completely spread within half-an-hour.”

There was no immediate word on the cause of the blaze, but angry residents said they had warned local authorities about fire issues at Grenfell Tower.

Muslims awake for Ramzan might have helped save lives after noticing the horrific blaze. Residents told of how they didn’t hear alarms as the fire swept through the tower. But they were alerted to the blaze by fellow residents, some of whom may have been Muslims who were among the first to notice the fire. Andre Barroso told The Independent: “Muslims played a big part in getting a lot of people out. They have been providing food and clothes.”