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London fire: six people confirmed dead after tower block blaze – latest

14:50, Wednesday, 14 June, 2017
London fire: six people confirmed dead after tower block blaze – latest

At least six deaths were confirmed early Wednesday after a blaze ripped through a high-rise apartment block in the British capital as residents slept. At least 50 people were injured, according to authorities.

More than 250 firefighters battled the inferno at Grenfell Tower in west London through the night.

Local resident Tim Downie told NBC News he saw "people dangling children out the windows to try and get them to safety" as flames spread upward. Another witness recounted watching someone jumping from it.

Local officials believe that several hundred people were in the building, which dates back to the 1970s. The high-rise had a "stay put" policy in the event of a fire — with residents urged to shut their windows and doors and await rescue.London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton called it an "unprecedented incident," adding that a "number of fatalities" had been confirmed. Police later put the death toll at 6, but warned that figure was likely to grow,

"In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never, ever seen anything of this scale," Cotton said. "This is a major fire that’s affected all floors of the 24-story structure from the second floor upwards."

She highlighted that "very large numbers" were rescued by emergency crews early on. But almost nine hours after the blaze broke out, Cotton admitted "we have absolutely no idea" how many people remained unaccounted for.

Michael Paramasivan was wearing only underwear and a robe when he fled the seventh floor about 35 minutes after the blaze was reported.

He described the scene in the stairwell as an "absolute horror story."

"There was smoke everywhere, people screaming and shouting," the 37-year-old told NBC News. "It all happened so fast but was really, really frightening. I'm shaking."

He added: "They say you're supposed to put a towel under the door and wait for rescue but I wasn't going to hang around ... There was some kind of alarm but it was barely audible. It certainly wouldn't have woken you up."Grenfell Tower has around 130 units. It is located about a mile northwest of Kensington Palace and is also near the Portobello Road market tourist attraction.

Paul Littlejohn, 41, who lives nearby, added: "I've seen a few familiar faces this morning and I was very relieved to see them but many other people say there are missing people inside."

Sajad Jamalvatan, a Grenfell Tower resident who was at the movies when the fire broke out, told NBC News that he “saw with my bare eyes someone jumping from the building" to escape the flames.

The London Fire Brigade sent 40 vehicles to the scene after being called at 12:54 a.m. Wednesday local time (7:54 p.m. ET Tuesday). At least 50 patients were later transported to five local hospitals.

At 8:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. ET), black smoke was still pouring from every floor of the building.

Surrounding streets up to a mile away were covered in a layer of ash as a police helicopter buzzed over the area — an ethnically and economically diverse part of west London.Ousama Itani, who lives nearby, told NBC News that one of his relatives heard people screaming from the building.

"We saw apartment after apartment getting lit up into flames," Itani added.

Nassima Boutrig, who lives opposite the tower, told The Associated Press that she heard people shouting: "Help, help, help."

She added: "The fire brigade could only help downstairs. It was fire up, up, up. They couldn't stop the fire."

Residents were hurrying along the streets trying to find news of neighbors or family members.Kidan Opbekke, 39, was returning to her home in a nearby street after working a night shift when she saw the aftermath of the blaze.

"A friend of mine, from Eritrea, she cannot find her daughter," she sobbed in the street. "She got out from the fire but she cannot find her daughter."

Opbekke added: "This is terrible. There is nothing we can do except pray. We just came here to pray. And why, why did this happen?"

At the nearby Latymer Community Church, some of the shocked survivors were being given water and food. A local mosque also opened its doors.

"We will be providing temporary shelter and food for anyone of any faith or no faith affected by the fire," said Abdurahman Sayed, the head of the Al Manaar Mosque.

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