DUSHANBE, 14.06.2017 /NIAT “Khovar”/. A massive fire engulfed a 27-story apartment building in west London early Wednesday as around 30 people have been taken to hospitals following the blaze, Xinhua news agency reports.
According to the source, TV images showed the outside of the building totally blackened, with many window frames deformed. Heavy smoke is still billowing into the air, flames still raging almost five hours after police received the first report of the fire.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan called the fire a «major incident.»
The Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate, built in the 1970s and renovated several times, contains 120 homes. It is feared many are trapped inside the blazing building as the fire broke out in the wee hours of Wednesday.
The London Ambulance Service said earlier it sent «a number of resources.» Currently, there are 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters working on the scene.
London Ambulances’ hazardous environments team has also rushed to the scene.
The Metropolitan Police have closed major road A40 due to the fire and asked people to avoid the area so as to allow emergency services to get to the scene.
Police received report of the fire at the building at 1:16 a.m. local time (0016 GMT).
Although the cause of the fire is not yet clear, some residents have pointed to plastic cladding, which can be found on the ground, as «the problem.»