Disaster in 15 minutes at Grenfell Tower fire

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said firefighters had only able to reach the 12th floor at the height of the blaze.

“Thank God for our emergency services”.

It is not known yet how many people died in the blaze, as many people’s whereabouts remain unaccounted for, but it is believed that up to 600 people lived there inside 120 flats.

“People were still sleeping on the higher floors, they didn’t have a clue what was going on, I’m not even sure if half of them got out to be honest with you, there was kids out the window”, resident David Benjamin said. “Help! Help!’ and putting their hands on the window and asking to help them”, Amina Sharif, a witness, told Reuters.

Media reports warned that the blackened tower could collapse, with cladding already falling to the ground. “We were literally standing there saying to them “jump, please jump, just jump out the window”, she said.

Another witness, Saimar Lleshi, saw people tying together sheets to try to escape. Only one person was seen being pulled out of the building alive. I went across the landing to the fire exit but the smoke was so, so strong that I couldn’t see anything.

“Our priority is to assess the level and nature of injuries and ensure those in the most need are treated first and taken to hospital”, the London Ambulance Service service said. But the smoke covered them and then the fire destroyed everything.

The chair of Parliament’s Fire Safety and Rescue Group has said the Grenfell Tower fire probably wouldn’t have happened if its recommendations had been acted on.

Around an hour later the London Fire Brigade also tweeted that the whole building was in flames, starting from the second floor. “Any lessons learnt from this will be borne out not just across London, across the United Kingdom – and lessons learnt globally”.

Mr Hurd said that whatever resources were needed to deal with the situation would be made available.

“There are 22,000 homes in this country where this is a potential risk of fire or electrocution because of defective cables”, Senator Xenophon said.

“We tried to go back, but it was all black, so I had to come out of the building”, Wahbi added.

Residents who escaped told harrowing stories of seeing their neighbours trapped in their apartments as the flames advanced towards them.

One baby miraculously survived after being thrown from the ninth floor.

Labour MP Jim Fitzpatrick – chairman of the all-party Parliamentary Fire Safety and Rescue Group – said the Government has resisted calls to install sprinkler systems in high-rise blocks in the wake of the Lakanal House tragedy.

As many gathered outside evacuation centres to await news of loved ones, they reported people following official advice to stay inside, unaware of the true extent of the danger unfolding.

Other survivors spoke of confusion and conflicting advice given to residents, many of whom had been advised in advance not to leave their apartments in the event of a fire.

A July 2014 newsletter for residents said the tower building was designed “according to rigorous fire safety standards” and recommended that residents stay inside their apartments in the case of a fire. Residents said it appeared to start in an apartment on a lower floor and spread upward quickly.

But the woman cracks the door after hearing residents on the other side and summons them into her home before trying to shout to police.