GRENFELL TOWER DISASTER :
- 12 people confirmed dead but death toll is expected to rise
- 78 people treated in hospital, 18 of them are critically ill
- Nurse calls it the ‘worst incident’ of her career
- Fire began around 1am and tore through 24-storey tower
- It contains 120 flats, housing an estimated 400-550 people
- Residents had raised questions over building’s safety
- Residents report that the fire alarm system failed to go off
- Eyewitnesses blame recently installed cladding for speed of fire
- Government announces ‘checks’ for other towers
- Terrifying eyewitness accounts reveal residents jumped from windows
- ‘Miraculous’ survival of baby thrown from 9th floor of tower inferno
- Desperate search for missing loved ones begins
A massive blaze at a 24-storey tower block in London has killed at least 12 people and injured 78.
Eighteen are being treated in critical care and police warn they expect the number of dead to rise after the “truly shocking” incident.
The blaze broke out in the 1974-built Grenfell Tower, home to hundreds of people, shortly after 1am, with locals blaming newly installed cladding for the fast spread of the fire.
The death toll was initially believed to be six but police revised it to 12 at around 5pm.
The building contains 120 flats and authorities say they do not know how many people are missing.
As the blaze burned through the building it created a plume of smoke that could be seen from miles away.
Evacuated residents claimed that the building’s fire alarm failed to go off.
Locals also claimed that the building was “an accident waiting to happen”, warning of a potential fire in a series of disturbing blog posts as far back as 2013.
The prime minister was also dragged into the tragedy after it was revealed her new chief advisor failed to carry out a review of fire regulations in tower blocks – despite being warned of the potential for a devastating fire.
The fire is now largely under control, after more than 200 firefighters and 40 engines rushed to the scene, but stories of bravery, generosity and the’miraculous’ survival of a baby thrown from the ninth storey have provided some comfort as the scale of the devastation becomes clear.