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London fire: Twelve confirmed dead but police expect further fatalities after tower block blaze – latest updates London fire: Twelve confirmed dead but police expect further fatalities after tower block blaze – latest updates
(about 1 hour later)
6.18am BST
06:18
A photographer who took the photo of the burning block that appears on the front of the Evening Standard has said it was one of the most traumatic events he had ever witnessed. Jeremy Selwyn has previously covered the war in Bosnia, the Troubles and the Lockerbie bombing.
“It was a scene of total devastation,” he said. “It just got worse in front of my eyes. I felt useless as you could hear screams from people inside the building. After about an hour it all went quiet. When it all went quiet was the worst part for me.”
5.56am BST
05:56
The local council has no more space to accept donations, but there is a Grenfell Tower appeal that is taking financial donations (and has already raised £194,000)
Thanks for the donations of clothes, food etc. Our partners have been inundated with generous offers and have no more space at present.
5.47am BST
05:47
Summary
If you are just joining us, here is the latest:
At least 12 people have died after a huge fire engulfed a tower block in west London at about 1am on Wednesday. Police have said the death toll is likely to rise.
A huge relief effort has swung into action, with charity workers and volunteers providing aid for those affected. Residents have voiced their anger at a lack of coordination from the council or other authorities.
NHS England said 34 people remain in hospital, including 18 who are in critical care. Initially, 74 patients were treated in six hospitals across London.
Pockets of fire were still burning in the 24-storey block on Wednesday evening and firefighters remained on the scene overnight.
Worried family and friends appealed via social media for help to find the missing. Several hundred people would have been asleep in the block when the fire took hold.
Experts said the fire spread at unusual speed and raised concerns whether the cladding may have contributed to this. The tower, which was built in 1974, recently underwent a major refurbishment.
It emerged the cladding used in Grenfell Tower was behind a rapidly spreading blaze at a tower block in Melbourne in 2014. An eighth-floor fire raced up 13 floors to the roof of the 21-storey building in 11 minutes. The spread was “directly associated” with the external cladding, said the fire brigade.
The Grenfell Action Group, a residents’ association, repeatedly warned about the risk of fire and claimed a major blaze was narrowly averted after a power surge in 2013. The group said its concerns were dismissed.
The Circle and Hammersmith and City Tube lines between Hammersmith and Edgware Road have now reopened, as has the A40 Westway. However, there are bus diversions still in place. Check here for the latest transport updates.
Witnesses described screams of terror and people jumping in an attempt to reach safety.
A baby was caught by a member of the public after being dropped from the ninth or 10th floor, a witness said.
More than 200 firefighters tackled the blaze at its peak with more than 40 engines. Sixty-five people were rescued.
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People gathered on Thursday night for a vigil held outside Notting Hill Methodist church the Evening Standard has reported. Reverend Mike Long invited people to light candles before playing Amazing Grace on his flute as the crowd sang along.People gathered on Thursday night for a vigil held outside Notting Hill Methodist church the Evening Standard has reported. Reverend Mike Long invited people to light candles before playing Amazing Grace on his flute as the crowd sang along.
He is reported as saying:He is reported as saying:
There are times when all the words we can say are not adequate and sometimes words fail us because no words can do justice to how we feel, or what we have seen or what has happened. Today is one of those days.There are times when all the words we can say are not adequate and sometimes words fail us because no words can do justice to how we feel, or what we have seen or what has happened. Today is one of those days.
“What we can simply do is look to all that we have seen today which is good, which is fabulous – people getting together.“What we can simply do is look to all that we have seen today which is good, which is fabulous – people getting together.
“Let light triumph over all that is rotten, that is desperate and that defies our understanding.”“Let light triumph over all that is rotten, that is desperate and that defies our understanding.”
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Adele has been spotted mingling with the crowd at late-night vigils near Grenfell Tower.Adele has been spotted mingling with the crowd at late-night vigils near Grenfell Tower.
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Here is the full read on the problems previously linked to the cladding used in Grenfell Tower. It is worth noting that the cladding has not yet been established by authorities as the cause of the swift spread of the fire but it is likely to be the focus of the investigation.Here is the full read on the problems previously linked to the cladding used in Grenfell Tower. It is worth noting that the cladding has not yet been established by authorities as the cause of the swift spread of the fire but it is likely to be the focus of the investigation.
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03:03
Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, told the BBC’s Newsnight that people living in Grenfell Tower “have the right” to ask questions about whether alterations to the cladding compromised the safety of the building. “The starting point is there needs to be an absolutely thorough investigation,” he said. “The truth is this should not be happening in the UK, one of the wealthiest countries in the world.”
When questioned about advice given to residents to stay in their properties in case of fire, Wrack said: “The logic of construction of tower blocks is to compartmentalise the fire, so a fire should be restricted to the flat or floor of origin.
“If during the course of renovations – I’m not saying this has happened because we don’t know – if during the course of renovations fire-resistant walls, doors, ceilings have been compromised, then clearly the whole basis on which that advice has been based falls apart.
“This should not be happening, that’s the horrible aspect of this incident.”
2.50am BST
02:50
#GrenfellTower - A40 Westway has now reopened in both directions.
2.30am BST
02:30
Kensington and Chelsea Council’s deputy leader, Rock Feilding-Mellen, was asked on BBC’s Newsnight about residents’ worries about fire safety at the block. He said: “My understanding is that their concerns were looked at and officers and the TMO [tenant management organisation] made inquiries and felt we had done what was necessary.”
We reported earlier that Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) – which was paid £11m by the council to manage social housing in 2016 – had been reviewing fire safety procedures after previous incidents.
It had previously suffered a fire that affected its Adair Tower, also in north Kensington – the result of arson – which saw residents suffer from smoke inhalation and forced some to be rehoused.
The London fire brigade issued an enforcement notice, telling the organisation to install self-closing devices on the front doors of flats in that tower and the nearby Hazlewood Tower, which was built to the same design.
2.19am BST
02:19
Calla Wahlquist
The cladding used as part of the Grenfell Tower refurbishment has been pinpointed as the source of high-rise apartment fires in Australia and other countries.
A fire in 2014 at the Lacrosse building in Melbourne’s Docklands was strikingly similar to Wednesday’s disaster. Sparked by a cigarette on an eighth-floor balcony, the fire raced up 13 floors to the roof of the 21-storey building in 11 minutes.
In a report into the investigation of the Lacrosse fire, the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) said the rapid vertical spread of the fire was “directly associated” with the external cladding.
“Had the external wall cladding been of a non-combustible type, the likelihood of fire spread beyond the level of ignition would have been greatly reduced,” it said.
“Those of us that have been around for 30 years or more have never seen a fire develop in this way,” David Youssef, deputy chief fire officer for the MFB, said at the time. “We never expected to see a high rise fire, particularly one in a new building, that would spread so quickly from the eighth floor to the 21st floor.”
The same type of cladding – an aluminium composite – was installed on the Grenfell Tower in 2016, as part of a £10m renovation.
2.12am BST
02:12
A remarkably broad relief effort is underway. The local council has said it needs no further offers of accommodation but a disaster fund has been set up. You can contribute here.
A truck full of basic essentials like bottled water and nappies will leave Glasgow bound for London to help #GrenfellTower families.
2.03am BST
02:03
MIRROR: Deathtrap #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/BcDoLJQXrE
2.02am BST
02:02
The Times focused on the speed with which the fire took hold and spread.
THE TIMES: Disaster in 15 minutes #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/RGqvkbW19x
1.59am BST
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DAILY MAIL: How the hell could it happen? #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/D7L2lCNoxI
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THE SUN: They were told it was safe #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/odq5kzBRdJ