17:35
London. At least six people have been confirmed killed in a huge fire
that ripped through a west London tower block, but police expect the death toll
to rise.
In a
statement at 11.30am, 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.
Many others are receiving medical care."
Sadiq Khan,
the Mayor of London, said "questions need to be answered as soon as
possible".
Up to 600
people are believed to have been inside Grenfell Tower's 120 flats when the
blaze tore through the 24-storey building in the early hours.
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 many people and are still trying to put
the fire out in the 24-storey block 12 hours on.
Police say there may still be people in the building who are
unaccounted for. Residents who escaped spoke of others trapped and screaming for help, with some
throwing children from windows and others jumping from upper floors. Some were
reported to have attempted to use bin bags as makeshift parachutes.
More than
200 firefighters were called to the block on the Lancaster West Estate, in
north Kensington, at about 1.15am. Several firefighters also suffered
minor injuries in the blaze.
In a sign of hope, survivors were still reportedly being
pulled from the block nine hours after the blaze started.
As an
investigation into the cause of the fire began, residents reported that fire
alarms had not sounded and that they were told to "stay put" in their
flats and "put a wet towel down by the door.
