No Script

Please Wait...

Al-Ahed Telegram

London Fire: Some Dead, At Least 50 Hospitalized

London Fire: Some Dead, At Least 50 Hospitalized
folder_openUnited Kingdom access_time6 years ago
starAdd to favorites

Local Editor

Some people were killed, at least 50 others were injured and other residents were trapped asleep as fire engulfed a 27-storey block of flats in central London on Wednesday.

London Fire: Some Dead, At Least 50 Hospitalized

Flames licked up the sides of the block in the north Kensington area as 200 firefighters, backed up by 40 fire engines, fought the blaze for hours.

Plumes of black and gray smoke billowed high into the air over the British capital hours after the blaze broke out at the Grenfell Tower where several hundred people live.

Residents rushed to escape through smoke-filled corridors in the housing block after being woken up by the smell of burning. Some said no fire alarm sounded.

Witnesses said they saw trapped residents desperately shouting for help from windows on upper floors as flames enveloped the building.

London Fire Brigade said the fire engulfed all floors from the second to the top of the block which contained 130 apartments.

London Ambulance Service said more than 50 people had been taken to hospital. A witness told Reuters she feared not all the residents had escaped the fire. Some were evacuated in their pajamas.

The cause of the fire, which broke out just before 1 a.m. [0000 GMT], was not known, the Fire Brigade said.

Residents said repairs had been made recently to the exterior of the block.

The local council of Kensington and Chelsea, which owns the block, said its focus was on supporting the rescue and relief operation. It said the causes of the fire would be fully investigated.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

Comments