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14th Jun 2017

Major fire tears through London apartment building

Anna O'Rourke

Firefighters have been battling to tackle a blaze that broke out in a building of flats in London early this morning.

The fire at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, West London, was reported just after 1.15 am this morning, with eyewitnesses claiming to see people trapped inside the building, reports the BBC.

Emergency services attempted to evacuate the building as up to 200 firefighters sought to bring the flames under control.

Fire at London apartment building.

The entire building has however been engulfed by the fire and there are fears that it could collapse.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing lights, thought to be from mobile phones or torches, coming from the higher floors of the building, while residents were seen coming to their windows.

Other witnesses report hearing police tell residents to put wet cloths in their mouths and self-evacuate.

A number of witnesses also claim to have seen people jump from the building.

Fire at London apartment building

 

With 20 ambulance crews on the scene, it’s reported that up to 30 people have been taken to hospital this morning to receive treatment for a number of injuries, including smoke inhalation.

The mayor of London Sadiq Khan has described the fire as a “major incident”.