Update: London suffers another disaster as #GrenfellTower burns

london fire north kensington grenfell tower latimer road london fire twitter

Update, 12.40pm SAST: London’s Metropolitan Police has confirmed that at least six people have died in the blaze that swept through North Kensington’s Grenfell Tower Wednesday morning.

“I can confirm six fatalities at this time but this figure is likely to rise during what is a complex recovery operation over a number of days,” commander Stuart Cundy explains in a press release.

Original article: Hashtags #LondonFire, #GrenfellTower and #NorthKensington were trending across Twitter worldwide this morning, as a multi-storey apartment block in West London caught fire.

“Police were called at 01:16hrs on Wednesday, 14 June to reports of a large fire at a block of flats in the Lancaster West Estate, W11,” London’s Metropolitan Police alerted in a press release.

Later, London Fire Brigade tweeted that it is attending to the fire, which was burning between the second and top floors, around 3.30am SAST Wednesday morning.

But the situation escalated through the early hours of the morning, as the structure fire wound its way around the London tower block.

#LatimerRoad — the address of the block — was the first trending hashtag to appear relating to the fire around 4am Wednesday

Adjacent buildings were evacuated, while the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan declared the fire a “major incident”.

#LatimerRoad — the closest London Underground station to the blaze — was the first trending hashtag to appear relating to the fire around 4am Wednesday. #GrenfellTower, #ladbrokegrove and #NorthKensington then followed.

A slew of Twitter users flooded the social network with videos and pictures of the blaze.

Twitter user Natalie Oxford documented the entire progression of the London tower block fire — from its most ferocious to its now smokey state.

While fatalities have not yet been confirmed, London Ambulance Service confirmed that “over 50 patients” have been taken to five hospitals across the city.

The situation however continues to be addressed by London police and emergency services.

“Extensive cordons are in place and nearby residents have been evacuated as a precaution. Please stay away from the area,” London Metropolitan Police announced in its latest tweet.

Feature image: London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) via Twitter

Andy Walker, former editor
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