From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
6 reported killed in massive London high-rise blaze
LONDON — A deadly nighttime fire raced through a 24-story apartment tower in London early Wednesday, killing at least six people and injuring dozens more, authorities say. Some desperate residents threw their children from high windows, hoping someone on the ground would catch them.
Police commander Stuart Cundy says there were six confirmed fatalities, adding that the figure was likely to rise “during what will be a complex recovery operation over a number of days.”
People in the apartments cornered by the quickly advancing flames and thick smoke banged on windows and screamed for help to those watching down below, witnesses and survivors say.
Flames from the inferno lit up the night and smoke spewed from the windows of the Grenfell Tower in North Kensington where more than 200 firefighters battled the blaze and went into the building with breathing apparatus. A plume of black smoke stretched for miles across the pale sky after dawn, revealing the blackened, flame-licked wreckage of the building.
There was no immediate word on the cause, but angry residents say they had repeatedly warned about a potential fire threat. One resident says the fire alarm did not go off.
— AP
The Times of Israel Community.