NewsWorld News

London fire: Crews work through night at tower block

Firefighters have worked through the night to dampen the deadly fire at a west London block of flats that killed 12 people and left many more missing.

Flames could still be seen inside the tower block as crews used lights to search the building floor by floor.

Sixty-five people were rescued after fire ripped through Grenfell Tower in north Kensington on Wednesday morning.

Police have warned the number of deaths is expected to rise, while PM Theresa May has promised a full investigation.

Firefighters were called to the residential tower at 00:54 BST on Wednesday, at a time when “several hundred” people were thought to have been inside.

The tower had around 120 flats. The cause of the fire remains unknown.

Dozens of people left homeless by the fire have spent the night in makeshift rescue centres, while well-wishers have been signing a wall of condolence near the site.

Photographs have been left alongside messages for loved ones.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council said it had placed 44 households so far in emergency accommodation.

Cladding fires

BBC News reporter Sarah Corker said people had been arriving throughout the night with donations to help those affected.

Meanwhile, BBC’s Newsnight understands the type of cladding used on Grenfell Tower was used on other high-rise buildings hit by fires.

The exterior cladding, installed in 2015, had a polyethylene – or plastic – core instead of a more fireproof alternative, Newsnight policy editor Chris Cook said.

Similar cladding was used in high-rise buildings hit by fires in France, the UAE and Australia.

See also  DP Gachagua open the 2023 Mombasa international show

Bhupinder Singh, a volunteer, was one of a number of people looking after donations overnight.

“It is times like this that the best of our community comes out. This is where you find out how good it is to live in England and how good it is to be a Londoner,” he told the BBC.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button