‘A number’ of fatalities, scores wounded in massive London fire

Locals are blaming negligence for a huge fire in a residential building that wounded at least 50 people. The number of deaths is still unknown.

Several people died in a major fire in a high-rise residential building in London that broke out in the wee morning hours. The city’s Ambulance Service says 50 people have been taken to five hospitals.

The building was engulfed quickly, and London’s fire commissioner said the incident resulted in “a number” of fatalities.

According to Stuart Crichton, the Ambulance Service’s assistant director of operations, 100 medics were on the scene, together with ambulance crews and advanced trauma teams.

Commissioner Dany Cotton called the fire an “unprecedented incident,” saying she has never seen anything on this scale in her 29-year career. Firefighters are still working and she can’t say how many people may have died.

Cotton said a number of people died in the fire, but she couldn’t yet confirm how many because of the size and complexity of the building. Witnesses said that they saw people jumping from the upper floors.

The fire raced through the 24-floor Grenfell Tower in North Kensington around 1 a.m.

Local residents said they had warned local authorities about fire issues in the building, a public housing block built in 1974 and containing 120 homes, according to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

“We’ve complained to council,” said Edward Daffarn, 55, who said nothing had been done to improve safety. “I consider this mass murder.”

Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a statement, “There will be a great many questions over the coming days as to the cause of this tragedy and I want to reassure Londoners that we will get all the answers.

By: AP and World Israel News Staff

LondonSadiq Khan