A number of fatalities' in London tower fire: official

London: A massive blaze today engulfed a 24- storey residential tower in west London, killing a “number” of people and injuring several others, the Fire Brigade chief said.The fire at Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate in Latimer Road was reported at 01:16 local time.

London Fire Brigade chief Dany Cotton told reporters at the scene that there have been “a number of fatalities.” “I cannot confirm the number at this time due to the size and complexity of the building,” Cotton said.

More than 200 firefighters were still tackling the blaze at the tower, where hundreds of people are thought to live. Though many witnesses said they saw people trapped inside their homes, emergency services gave no details.

London Ambulance said 30 people were receiving hospital treatment. People screamed for help as the fire took hold of the building. Some residents were seen using bedsheets to make their escape from the tower block. Those inside were urged not to panic.

“We have sent a number of resources to the scene including our hazardous area response team and over 20 ambulance crews,” said Stuart Crighton, London Ambulance Service assistant director of operations. “Our priority (is) to get people to safety and ensure they receive the medical help as quickly as possible,” Crighton said.

The area around Grenfell Tower is home to a large number of Muslims. Many were awake at the time the fire broke out having their early morning meal before beginning the daily fast for the holy month of Ramzan.

“It has burned through to its very core. It looks very bad, very very bad. I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s just such a big fire. The whole building is just crumbling. It’s just billowing black smoke,” an eyewitness told the BBC.