On Wednesday, a high-rise apartment building in the British capital caught fire, claiming the lives of 6 residents and injuring 74 others.
The incident occurred just before 1 a.m. when the blaze ripped through the 24-story Grenfell Tower on Latimer Road in West London. Within six minutes, emergency officials arrived at the scene, followed by an additional 200 firefighters to help put out the flames.
Witnesses say they saw residents jumping from the apartment building, which is believed to house around 600 people. Others say they saw residents dangling their children out of the windows to get them to safety as the fire spread.
“A woman was gesturing that she was about to throw her baby and if someone could catch her,” the U.K.’s Press Association said in a statement. “Somebody did, a gentleman ran forward and managed to grab the baby,” who had been released from the ninth or tenth floor.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, however, residents believe the fire started in an apartment on the first few floors and rose quickly. According to residents, no fire alarms went off as there is no integrated alarm system in the building. The building, which dates back to the 1970s, had a “stay put” policy in the event of a fire, encouraging residents to stay inside, close their doors and windows and wait for help. However, the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, said the policy was “bad advice. He also described the incident as “very distressing,” adding “not just for those of us watching as law people, but also very distressing for the emergency services.”
While the number of fatalities have been confirmed, police have warned that the figure will likely grow upon recovery.
