Firefighters battled a massive fire in a 27-floor high-rise apartment building in west London for several hours Wednesday.
London's
Metropolitan Police said a number of people were being treated for a
range of injuries, but did not provide more specifics. London Mayor
Sadiq Khan said on Twitter that a major incident had been declared.
Flames
and smoke were still shooting from the windows of the Grenfell Tower in
North Kensington more than four hours after the blaze started around 1
a.m. London time. It was not clear if there were residents trapped, but
people at the scene spoke of not being able to reach friends and family
who had been inside.
Nassima Boutrig, who
lives opposite the building, said she was awakened by sirens and smoke
so thick that it filled her home as well.
"We
saw the people screaming," she said. "A lot of people said 'Help, help,
help.' The fire brigade could only help downstairs. It was fire up, up,
up. They couldn't stop the fire."
Boutrig said
her friend's brother, wife and children lived in the building and that
her friend was waiting to find out if they were OK.
The
London Fire Brigade said 45 fire engines and 200 firefighters were
called to the scene and Assistant Fire Commissioner Dan Daly said it was
a large and very serious incident.
"Firefighters
wearing breathing apparatus are working extremely hard in very
difficult conditions to tackle this fire," he said in a post on the
brigade's Facebook page.
Once the sun rose, smoke could be seen from miles away.
George
Clarke, the presenter of "Amazing Spaces," told Radio 5 Live he was
covered in ash even though he was 100 meters (yards) from the scene.
He
said he saw people waving flashlights from the top levels of the
building and saw rescuers "doing an incredible job" trying to get people
out.
Tim Downie, who lives not far away, told
Britain's Press Association that he feared the building could collapse.
He said he heard sirens, helicopters and shouting and then saw the
building engulfed in flames.
"It's the most
terrifying thing I've ever seen. I just hope they have got everyone
out," he said. "People have been bringing water, clothes, anything
they've got to help, out to the cordon."
