Fatalities reported in London inferno
Dozens of people have been taken to hospital after a 27-storey block of flats went up in flames in the early hours, trapping some residents who were asleep
London — Fire engulfed a 24-storey block of flats in central London on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people, injuring at least 50 more and trapping some residents asleep inside the towering inferno. Twelve people had been confirmed dead by midday, and police said the death toll was expected to rise. Flames licked up the sides of the block in the north Kensington area as 200 firefighters, backed up by 40 fire engines, fought the blaze for hours. Plumes of black and grey smoke billowed high into the air over the British capital hours after the blaze broke out at the Grenfell Tower where several hundred people live. Residents rushed to escape through smoke-filled corridors in the housing block after being woken up by the smell of burning. Some said no fire alarm sounded. Witnesses said they saw trapped residents desperately shouting for help from windows on upper floors as flames enveloped the building. London Fire Brigade said the fire engulfed all floors from the second to the top o...
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