Residents were trapped “screaming for their lives” as flames raged through a 27-storey tower block in Notting Hill in the early hours today.
Witnesses described “horrible scenes” as firefighters battled the inferno at Grenfell Tower in the Lancaster West estate near Ladbroke Grove.
London Fire Brigade confirmed "a number of fatalities" this morning. They could not say how many people were killed due to the "complexity" of the operation.
Forty fire engines with 200 officers were called shortly before 1am as flames engulfed the block from the second floor upwards “within seconds”.
Hundreds of fire officers were joined by police and paramedics to wake and evacuate residents as set up an exclusion zone around the base of the tower as burning debris crashed down the side.