Article snippet: LONDON — More than 200 firefighters from all over London were struggling to contain a major fire at a high-rise apartment building in the west of the city on Wednesday morning, amid fears that people were trapped inside. An official said there had been “a number of fatalities.” According to the London Fire Brigade, the fire broke out shortly before 1 a.m. and quickly engulfed the building, Grenfell Tower, in North Kensington, which appeared to have been gutted. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. The London Fire Brigade said the flames had spread from the second floor to the top floor of the 24-story building. Forty fire trucks were involved in fighting the blaze, and more than 20 ambulances were sent to the scene. The commissioner of the fire brigade, Dany Cotton, said there had been “a number of fatalities.” But given “the size and complexity of this building,” she said, the exact count could not be confirmed. “In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never, ever seen anything of this scale,” Ms. Cotton said. The London Ambulance Service said it had taken more than 50 patients to five hospitals. At dawn, the blaze still burned brightly against the pale sky, with columns of thick black smoke ascending. Ashes filled the air, and small explosions could be heard as helicopters flew overhead. Firefighters on the ground trained hoses on the building. The police were extending their cordon around the building and pushing people back, apparently feari... Link to the full article to read more
London Fire: ‘Number of Fatalities’ as Blaze Engulfs Apartment Tower - The New York Times
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