MAJOR FIRE with Fatalities in London

What We Know So Far

  • A "major incident" has been declared, and there have been a "number of fatalities", the London Fire Commissioner has confirmed. Dany Cotton was unable to say how many had died due to the scale of the "unprecedented" fire.
  • The London Fire Brigade was first called at shortly before 1am on Wednesday to the Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, North Kensington, London.
  • Over 50 people have been taken to hospitals, London Ambulance Service said.
  • Efforts to evacuate residents continued for hours after the fire first broke out, the Metropolitan Police confirmed, and as of 6 am the fire continued to rage.
  • Many residents are still missing. Witnesses have said they saw people jumping from the building, and survivors have described how they managed to flee the building.
  • The cause of the fire is not clear.
  • Forty fire engines and 200 firefighters responded, according to London Fire officials. The first emergency responder was on the scene six minutes after the first call was received.
  • The building, constructed in 1974, is 24 stories tall and contains 120 homes, according to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
  • Residents' groups had issued numerous warnings in the past few years about the block's fire safety provisions. Read more here.
  • An emergency number Casualty Bureau has been set up on 0800 0961 233.

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