Eyewitnesses described people trapped in the burning Grenfell Tower, in north Kensington, screaming for help and yelling for their children to be saved.
Firefighters rescued "large numbers", but London Mayor Sadiq Khan said "a lot" of people were unaccounted for.
The 24-storey block, which is still on fire, looks at risk of collapsing.
During the night, eyewitnesses said they saw lights - thought to be mobile phones or torches - flashing at the top of the block of flats, and trapped residents coming to their windows - some holding children.
It is understood that "several hundred" people would have been in the block when the fire broke out shortly after midnight, most of them sleeping.
Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Metropolitan Police said: "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."
He said it was likely to be some time before police could identify the victims, adding that it was too early to speculate on the cause of the fire.
An emergency number has been set up on 0800 0961 233 for anyone concerned about friends or family.
Seventy-four people have received treatment in hospital. At least 20 are known to be in a critical condition.
By mid-morning, the building looked to be just smoking ruins but the fire has again taken hold, and cladding is falling to the ground.
Paul Munakr, who lives on the seventh floor, managed to escape.
"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," he told the BBC.
He said he was alerted to the fire not by fire alarms but by people on the street below, shouting "don't jump, don't jump".
Eyewitness Jody Martin said: "I watched one person falling out, I watched another woman holding her baby out the window... hearing screams.
"I was yelling at everyone to get down and they were saying 'We can't leave our apartments, the smoke is too bad on the corridors.'"
-BBC
Post A Comment:
0 comments: