London fire latest: Fatalities confirmed as Grenfell Tower residents trapped

• THE LATEST: Click here for live updates

• Huge blaze engulfs 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London

• 'Number of fatalaties' confirmed - many unaccounted for

• Trapped residents pictured at windows as screams heard

• At least 50 people in hospital amid investigation into cause

• 'The whole building has gone': Witnesses tell of horrific scenes

• Residents claim safety warnings in 2014 'fell on deaf ears'

• At a glance: Everything we know about blaze so far

• Police number for concerned relatives: 0800 0961 233

Several people have died after a huge fire ripped through a west London tower block, with many residents still missing amid reports of people trapped in their homes.

Up to 600 people are believed to have been inside 120 flats in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower when the blaze began. At least 50 injured people were taken to hospital - it is unclear how many managed to get out safely.

As an investigation into the cause of the fire begins, residents reported that fire alarms had not sounded and that they were told to "stay put" in their flats. Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said "questions need to be answered as soon as possible".

Residents who escaped spoke of others trapped and screaming for help, with some holding children from windows and others jumping from upper floors.

Pictures from the scene showed flames engulfing the block and a plume of smoke visible across the capital, while others showed residents looking out of windows in the block.

More than 200 firefighters were called to the block on the Lancaster West Estate, in north Kensington, at about 1.15am.

Shortly before 8am, London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton confirmed that there have been a "number of fatalities" in the "unprecedented incident". She said the cause of the blaze was unknown.

Nick Paget-Brown, the leader of Kensington and Chelsea Borough, said "several hundred" people would have been in the block when the fire broke out. A "significant number of people" remain unaccounted for.

Actor and writer Tim Downie, who lives around 600 metres from the scene in Latimer Road, said he feared the block could collapse.

He said: "It's horrendous. The whole building is engulfed in flames. It's gone. It's just a matter of time before this building collapses."

An action group claimed their warnings of a "catastrophe" fell on "deaf ears" after highlighting safety concerns three years ago.

Scotland Yard said it was "likely to take some time before we are in a position to confirm the cause of the fire".

​The 1970s-built tower block was recently refurbished at a cost of £8.7 million, with work completed in May 2016 that saw the exterior "modernised" with cladding and replacement windows.

9:42AM

Update from fire brigade: Tower block 'continues to be safe'

London Fire Brigade are just giving us an update - Commissioner Dany Cotton has said:

• Fire crews were on scene within six minutes

• Around 200 firefighters were on the scene of the blaze

• An investigation into the cause is beginning

• A structural engineer is monitoring the stability of the building

• The building "continues to be safe for our crews to go and work in"

• "We send our sincere condolences to everyone involved in this really terrible incident"

• "This is still at a dynamic stage - it would be wrong to speculate on the cause"

• "We rescued a large number of people from very early on"

9:27AM

Sadiq Khan: Questions need to be answered

London Mayor Sadiq Khan told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's very distressing, not just for those of us watching as lay people, but also very distressing for the emergency services.

"We declared a major incident very early, which meant not just the fire service but also the London Ambulance Service, the police and the others were involved at the scene."

More than 100 police officers were on scene, alongside 100 medics and 250 firefighters, he said.

Pressed on reports that residents had been advised to stay inside their flats in the event of a fire, Mr Khan said: "Thankfully residents didn't stay in their flats and fled to safety."

Mr Khan added: "One of the concerns that we have is it's a 24-storey building but for obvious reasons, with the scale of the fire, our experts weren't able to reach all the way to the top, so of course these are questions that need to be answered as soon as possible." 

9:23AM

Latest pictures as firefighting operation continues

More than 200 firefighters and officers are still at the scene of the Grenfell Tower blaze, including 40 fire engines and a range of other specialist vehicles. As the major incident continues, these are the latest pictures reaching us of the firefighting operation:

9:07AM

'We could hear people screaming 'help me!': Harrowing witness accounts 

Witnesses have told how they were woken by screaming in the early hours.

Joanna O'Connor told Sky News: "At about 2am woken up by screaming, sirens and helicopters. We came outside and were confronted with the building that was completely engulfed in flames.

"It was a real shock and there were hundreds of people lining the streets, we could still hear screaming from the building and people were milling around in shock crying.

"One of our neighbours, her sister, husband and children were in the building, it was their neighbours' flat that caught fire. So it's very close to us, we've got neighbours whose families are in that building."

Another local resident, called Tamara, told BBC News: "Around 12.30/1am my mum called me and said there was a fire outside. By the time I got there the whole right side of the building was on fire, the whole thing was engulfed in flames.

"We could hear people screaming 'Help me' so me and my brother, with some other people who live in the area, ran over to the estate to where you could still get underneath it and there were people just throwing their kids out saying 'Save my children'.

"The fire crew, ambulance and police couldn't do anything, they couldn't get in, and they were just telling them to stay where they are, and we'll come and get you. But things quickly escalated beyond measure and they couldn't go back in and get them.

"Within another 15 minutes the whole thing was up in flames and there were still people at their windows shouting 'Help me'. You could see the fire going into their houses and engulfing the last room that they were in."

A man who lived on the 17th floor of the block, identified as Methrob, told LBC Radio: "I heard the fire trucks and so I was alerted that something was going on.

"There was no fire alarm in the building, we don't have an integrated fire alarm system. I went outside my house and I could smell the smoke. I looked out my window, I leaned over and I could see the fire blazing up.

"I woke up my auntie who was sleeping, it was about 1.15am, and we started to make our way down. I warned a couple of my neighbours, the ones nearest to me, and we basically went as fast as we could."

He said the fire was inside one apartment, but added the "real issue was when it caught fire to the cladding outside. That's when I noticed the fire from outside when I looked out the window.

"By the time that we got downstairs, the fire had gone all the way up and it was just about reaching our windows on the 17th floor. The whole one side of the building was on fire. The cladding went up like a matchstick."

8:53AM

Witness reports seeing several people die in blaze

Witness Joe D told Vanessa Feltz on BBC Radio London he saw several people die.

"I saw jumpers. I saw one jumper jump out, he landed on a fire patrol officer. His leg was dismembered from his body and there was another guy who died in the fire exit.

"Afterwards I spoke to the fire officer, the same one. He had been working right through the night and he said they could only get to the 11th floor, that was as far as they got.

"So in my opinion everyone north of the 11th floor had real trouble getting out."

8:23AM

Number of people taken to hospital rises to 50

London Ambulance Service has released a statement saying that paramedics have now taken more than 50 patients to five hospitals.

8:16AM

Latest travel updates, road and Underground closures

As a cordon remains in place around the burning tower block, here is the travel information you need to know this morning.

8:03AM

Fire chief: I have never ever seen anything of this scale

London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton told reporters at the scene: "This is an unprecedented incident. In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never ever seen anything of this scale."

7:52AM

Breaking: 'Number of fatalities' at Grenfell Tower blaze

There have been a "number of fatalities" at the fire at Grenfell Tower in west London, London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton has told reporters as she described the blaze as an "unprecedented incident". She said the cause of the fire is not yet known.

7:40AM

TV's George Clarke: I'm 100 metres away and absolutely covered in ash

George Clarke, who presents Channel 4 show Amazing Spaces, told Radio 5 Live earlier this morning: "I was in bed and heard 'beep, beep, beep' and thought, 'I'll get up and run downstairs as quickly as I could'.

"I thought it might be a car alarm outside and saw the glow through the windows. I'm getting covered in ash, that's how bad it is. I'm 100 metres away and I'm absolutely covered in ash.

"It's so heartbreaking, I've seen someone flashing their torches at the top level and they obviously can't get out."

7:35AM

Grenfell Tower 'had just been refurbished'

Grenfell Tower is understood to have undergone refurbishment in the last few months.

Mohammed, one of the residents who lives in the building, told Sky News: "It had just had a cosmetic refurbishment.

"We've had fires in the building before and they've never spread like this before."

He said that the building had an insulation cladding added to the outside.

7:29AM

Residents report fire alarms did not go off in building

Some residents of Grenfell Tower have claimed that fire alarms did not go off inside the building.  Paul Munakr, who lives on the seventh floor and managed to escape, told the BBC: "I managed to get out the building, not by a fire alarm, or something like that, it was by people down below screaming to people, don't jump, don't jump off the building.

 "Now, honestly I don't know for certain if people jumped off the building to get away from the fire, but the main thing for me with this incident is the fact that the fire alarms didn't go off in the building."

7:25AM

Action group: We warned of 'catastrophe' - but warnings 'fell on deaf ears'

An action group at Grenfell tower have said their warnings fell on "deaf ears" after highlighting safety concerns about the block.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known, but a blog post from the Grenfell Action Group from November 2016 said "only a catastrophic event" would expose issues residents had.

The group said there was one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower during improvement works at the block in Latimer Road and it had issues with evacuation procedures at the building.

Following the fire, the group posted: "All our warnings fell on deaf ears and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time."

The group claimed access to the building was "severely restricted" for emergency services and other vehicles and that residents were advised to stay in their flats in case of fire.

7:22AM

Smoke still seen pouring from building

An acrid column of smoke could be seen rising from the building shortly before 7am.

The charred structure still had pockets of flame rising from several storeys as the desperate effort to bring the blaze under control continued.

Schoolboy Omar Kalam, 11, was standing anxiously at the emergency service cordon with father Walid, 44.

"My brother has friends and they live in there," he said. "I'm not sure if they are all right yet."

Parents from nearby Kensington Aldridge Academy, where Omar attends, had been told the school was closed, his father said.

7:22AM

Emergency number for concerned friends and family

The Metropolitan Police have set up a casualty bureau for anyone concerned about their friends and family on 0800 0961 233.

6:40AM

30 nearby flats evacuated

London Fire Brigade says around 30 flats near the scene have been evacuated and a cordon is in place.

6:35AM

Huge challenge for firefighters

6:31AM

Community rallying round 

6:29AM

Fire continues to rage

6:26AM

Residents reported missing

The BBC reports that "a significant number of people" are unaccounted for.

6:23AM

30 patients taken to hospital

The London Ambulance service says it has taken 30 patients to hospital so far and they remain on the scene.

6:21AM

'Several hundred would have been in there'

Kensington and Chelsea Council leader Nick Paget-Brown described the blaze as a "very, very severe fire". He told Sky News:

6:11AM

Sadiq Khan monitoring situation

6:02AM

 'I peaked out and saw fire engines everywhere'

One survivor inside the building told Sky.

"It was about one o clock. I woke up to pee. I heard some unusual noise outside. I peaked out  and saw fire, police, fire engines everywhere.

"I asked the office what was going on and he said 'fire, get out!'.

5:53AM

Pictures from the ground

5:47AM

'I watched a woman holding her baby out the window'

Jody Martin said he got to the scene as the first fire engine was arriving at Grenfell Tower. He told the BBC:

He added that given the thickness of the smoke, he would be surprised if anyone could have left the building without assistance.

"I watched one person falling out, I watched another woman holding her baby out the window ... hearing screams, I was yelling everyone to get down and they were saying, 'We can't leave our apartments, the smoke is too bad on the corridors'."

5:18AM

Transport for London issue update

Transport for London said there was no service between Hammersmith and Edgware Road on the Circle and Hammersmith and City lines, while the police said the A40 was closed in both directions, owing to the fire.

5:16AM

Osborne tweets picture of blaze

George Osborne, former chancellor and now editor of the Evening Standard, has tweeted a picture of the blaze from near his home.

"Just seen this awful tower block fire near my home in W London. My prayers with those affected & heroes tackling it."

5:04AM

Ambulance service assessing 'level and nature of injuries'

The London Ambulance Service has issued an update.

5:01AM

In pictures

4:43AM

Sadiq Khan declares major incident

London mayor Sadiq Khan says a "major incident" has been declared.

4:42AM

Nearby residents told to evacuate

Residents nearby are apparently being told to leave their flats because of falling debris.

4:40AM

Ambulance service sends specialist unit

The London Ambulance says it had sent a "number of resources" to the scene, including its Hazardous Area Response Team. 

4:25AM

Fears building could collapse

Actor and writer Tim Downie, who lives around 600 metres from the scene in Latimer Road, told the Press Association he feared the block could collapse.

4:14AM

Firefighters working 'in very difficult conditions'

London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Dan Daly said:

4:13AM

Firefighters talking to those trapped

Witnesses report hearing people still trapped in building.

4:11AM

'Never experienced such terror in my life'

4:05AM

Police say a number of people being treated for a range of injuries

The Metropolitan Police have updated the situation on Twitter.

4:01AM

'The whole building seems to have been engulfed'

Victoria Goldsmith, who lives nearby, told Sky News.  “The whole building seems to have been engulfed. It has spread all the way to the top.

“There were two people trapped on the top, they were using their mobile phones.

“One woman was having a panic attack,: she added. The woman had seen everything she owned had gone up in flames.

3:58AM

'The building has gone'

Tim Downie, who lives nearby, said: "The fire has spread to all the building. The whole building has been engulfed. It has gone."

He added: "The building is pretty much burned out. It is gutted.

"I have never seen anything like it, the smell, the burning, the heat is extraordinary."

People living nearby rushed to the scene with clothes and shoes to provide help for those who had been forced to evacuate the building.

3:41AM

"Screams for help"

Fabio Bebber wrote on Twitter:

"More screams for help as the fire spreads to another side of the building.

"We can see how quick the fire spreads via the external panels. It's unbearable hearing someone screaming for their lives at £grenfelltower."

3:39AM

Bedsheets 'used to escape'

Some residents were reported to have used bedsheets to make their escape from the 27-storey building.

Firefighters gained access to the block, which houses hundreds of residents. Those inside were asked to shine torches or their mobile phones to help the rescue services.

Those inside were urged not to panic and cover their mouths with wet towels  as they made their escape.

One witness told  MailOnline:

3:38AM

Flames engulf tower

Jackson Harries, a photographer who lives in the area, has posted photos showing what looks like the whole building up in flames.

3:35AM

Fire started near top of building

The London Fire Brigade have posted some images that show the scale of the blaze in Grenfell Tower.

It said the fire started from the second to top floor of the 27-storey building.

3:32AM

'Families trying to find each other'

Celeste Thomas, who lives the scene, said:

"Police moving everyone back. I literally live across the road. Hundreds of people outside. Residents and families trying to find each other.

'Police have moved everyone back out of direct sight but can hear cracking and debris falling."