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Written by Staff Writer
London, UK – An apartment building caught fire in the early hours of Wednesday. The fire reportedly began on the 4th floor of the building before quickly spreading to the top, covering most parts of the building.
The Grenfell Tower, a 24-story building containing 127 apartments in Latimer Road, West London caught fire at daybreak while most of the building’s residents would have still been in bed.
London police say two people are currently being treated for smoke inhalation and they’re awaiting updates on further injuries.
A huge fire engulfs a 27-story block in West London as hundreds of firefighters attempt to evacuate the building https://t.co/DEENTN4w46 pic.twitter.com/rk88sJ5S6Q
— CNN International (@cnni) June 14, 2017
Goran Karimi, a witness described the whole building on fire, spreading fast and during which, he said he saw people jumping from the building.
London resident Dave Phippen said lights on one side of the building were still on even as the fire spread across the other side. He said he woke up up by the noise of residents shouting for help, which he initially mistook for a row.
“You could hear people screaming. Whoever is at the top of, I pray to god they got out.”, he said.
Other residents also said that they saw people trapped inside the building.
Another witness said that it is unclear if ongoing development and reconstruction played a part in the fire at the Tower. “Investigators will look into that after the rescue operation that is still ongoing,” she said.
Major incident declared at Grenfell Tower in Kensington. 40 fire engines & 200 firefighters at the scene – follow @LondonFire for updates.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) June 14, 2017
She also said that chunks of the building kept falling off in flames.
Around 200 firefighters and 40 fire engines have been deployed to tackle the blaze and evacuation attempts are underway as rescuers attempt to free people feared trapped.
The cause: “fire is from the second floor to the top floor of the 27 floor building.”, said the London Fire Brigade and added that the cause is still unknown.
There are distressing scenes on Latimer Road where terrified residents are seeking information about their families.
Neighbours shouting to a man still visible in a window at Grenfell Tower pic.twitter.com/oUh7HgD08i
— Alice Ross (@aliceross_) June 14, 2017
It comes as fire authorities told shocked onlookers that any residents trapped inside the building need to “self-evacuate”.
Metropolitan Police addressed a crowd at 4.14am (1.14pm AEST), yelling at them: “Listen to me … listen … if you know people inside, tell them to self evacuate … do not wait for the fire brigade. –If you get a phone call or twitter tell them, you tell them, to get out now.”
There’s a family still trapped! pic.twitter.com/rUKuJIrxJa
— Reyan (@ReyanW) June 14, 2017
The police then told the crowd to tell their friends and family to put a wet tea towel over their face, get beneath the smoke and get out.
One woman yelled back her friends were on the 23rd floor. “Do you want them to jump out the window?” she cried.
The 27-story Grenfell Tower was built in the 1970s and recently subject to a $10.9 million redevelopment.
Close to Notting Hill, the tower block is around a five minute walk from the Latimer Road Underground station and near the Westfield shopping center in the west London suburbs.
According to property website RightMove, the average rent in the building is around $2,500 a month
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