Horror of inferno that tore through Grenfell Tower as residents slept shown in series of amateur videos
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The horror of a huge inferno that engulfed a tower block in West London, killing at least 12 people and leaving dozens injured, has been captured in a series of amateur videos of the blaze.
The death toll of the fire at Grenfell Tower is expected to rise to "more than 50", amid claims "nobody on the top three floors survived".
One video posted on social media shows a firefighter battling to extinguish the fire as flaming debris and hot glass fall around him.
Another shows a brave firefighter carrying a girl to safety as the flames rages behind him.
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There are 'possibly hundreds missing' - although the exact number is understood to be hard to establish as dozens were rushed to hospital without names being noted.
The fire started at just before 1am, with fire crews taking less than six minutes to arrive at the scene.
In their latest update, London Ambulance Service said it had taken 68 injured to six London hospitals - on top of the 10 people who made their own way there. Of these patients 18 are listed as 'critical'.
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Steve Apter, from London Fire Brigade, described the fire as "unprecedented in scale, speed and strength." He said 250 firefighters battled the blaze and crews expected to be at the scene overnight to deal with the fire.
He said by 5pm today fire crews had searched almost all of the building.
Residents are claiming they were previously told to stay inside the building in the event of a fire - and some are known to have believed it to be safer than escaping via stairwells that were thick with smoke.
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In chaotic scenes, some parents were forced to throw their young children to safety from several flights up of the tower block. Others told television crews that they had seen people jumping from windows.
Some were spotted screaming for help from the tower block - waving torches to get the attention of firefighters - while others used knotted bedsheets to try to escape.
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One video captured blankets hanging from windows, not quite reaching the ground, and many apartments with their lights still illuminated.
At least one person was spotted falling from a window as the first fire engine arrived at around 1am - while another trapped woman was spotted holding her baby out of another window.
Others, dressed in their nightclothes, say they stepped over dead bodies in their bid to escape - while one man was seen jumping with a 'makeshift parachute'.
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Police were spotted using riot shields to protect fire crew from falling debris as they battled to reach those who are trapped - with people still being rescued 11 hours after the blaze started.
A Lancaster West estate resident's committee member said they are working with a missing list of "possibly hundreds" of residents - but that nobody who lived on the 21st residential floor or above is thought to have survived.
There are 24 floors of flats in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower, and police have already confirmed six fatalities, but that figure is expected to rise significantly.
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The committee member, who did not want to be named, said: "I have been told that anyone past the 21st floor did not make it.
"The firefighters told them to stay where they were.
"We have a list of missing people there are so many, it's possible there are more than 50, possibly hundreds."
"But the tenant management organisation say it's likely many of those missing are in hospital and have just not checked in.
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"Lots of people here are looking for their families.
One man broke down as he spoke to the BBC about what he had seen.
Residents who escaped are explaining the horrific scenes they witnessed as friends and neighbours threw their children to safety to be caught by people below.
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One witness said he saw a 'child on fire' jump from the 22nd floor as the blaze took hold.
One man, who saw a friend throw two people to safety - and people jump from windows - broke down in tears as he said simply: "We saw a lot. We saw a lot."
A nurse who treated the injured at the scene said people were "spitting out black tar that had gone on their lungs".
Another eyewitness, Samira Lamrani, 38, who lives nearby, claims she saw people "throwing their kids out" of windows and heard people screaming: "Help me! Help me! Save my children! Save my children!"
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People with relatives in the block have rushed to the scene and have been spotted waiting behind police tape for news of loved ones.
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One explained how their mother "had to step over a dead body" as she made her way to safety.
At least one child has been reported missing - after the family of Jessica Urbano phoned her mother terrified as she was trapped inside.
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Young children were seen waving for help from upper floors and at least one child was spotted being pulled to safety on the ground by firefighters.
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Residents are claiming on social media that the smoke was too thick in corridors to leave their flats and use fire escapes - while others say they shut their doors because they believed their flats to be 'fire proof for at least an hour'.
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Fire chiefs said the first call came in at 12:54am and the first crew was on scene in less than six minutes.
In a statement at 9.45am it was revealed they had managed to reach the 19th and 20th floors.
Mirror reporter Andy Lines is at the scene and says that fires are still breaking out in the building at different locations and debris is falling.
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He says he has witnessed heroic scenes 'reminiscent of 9/11' of firefighters gearing up and walking into the blaze as new fires break out all over the building and debris continues to tumble.
Denise Bloomfield, 37, who was evacuated from a nearby flat, said: "You could feel the heat from where you were standing. It was scary. It was like watching a movie.
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"People were like zombies in their pyjamas. It was just not real."
She had looked out of her window and "saw the whole building on fire and people screaming for help".
(Photo: London News Pictures Ltd)
(Photo: PA)
(Photo: Twitter/@LondonFire)
(Photo: London News Pictures Ltd)
She said: "We ran out and saw the whole building on fire. People near me were screaming because their loved ones were there.
"There was nothing you could do because we were being pushed back. There was nothing you could do because it was too big. The fire just took so quickly.
"There were people who were just surviving ... and waiting for the fire to take them, just waiting to die.
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"They were taking in air from the window. One person had a light so you knew they were there."
Shocking images show the fire tearing through Grenfell Tower in North Kensington as firefighters tackled the inferno - with around 120 flats affected and several hundred people known to be at home at the time it broke out.
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Harrowing video footage showed trapped residents hanging the makeshift ropes made of sheets and blankets out of their windows several storeys up as flames and debris rain down the side of the building.
One resident who escaped from the 7th floor with his daughter told Mirror reporter Andy Lines the fire was so intense it was "like petrol being poured over it".
(Photo: London News Pictures Ltd)
(Photo: REUTERS)
People living nearby are rallying around to help - providing shelter, clothing, food and water - and celebrities are appealing on social media to help those in need.
A "major incident" has been declared and London Fire Brigade said 200 firefighters backed up by 40 engines were "working extremely hard" at the scene.
Firefighters were spotted rushing into the inferno - and one severely disabled woman was spotted being carried to safety.
The fire engulfed almost every floor from the 2nd to the 27th - and as dawn broke it was clear there are still people trapped.
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Video footage emerged on social media of people on the street calling up to trapped residents at windows asking what floor they are on in an attempt to help guide the emergency crews.
About 30 adjacent flats have been evacuated by police - and a large cordon has been established around the inferno.
Many residents managed to make it out in their pyjamas.
An emergency number has been set up for people who are concerned for loved ones who live in the building - call the Casualty Bureau at 0800 0961 233 .
The cause of the blaze is not known - unconfirmed reports have suggested that a resident's fridge may have caught fire. London Fire Brigade says it is too early to establish the cause.
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Many people on social media have been quick to blame cladding which was recently placed on the building as part of a major £8.7million refurbishment for the reason the fire was able to take hold so quickly.
Residents are saying they have been warning of a major incident likely to happen.
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The Metropolitan Police said earlier that residents were being evacuated and there were "a number of people being treated for a range of injuries."
One onlooker said he could hear people screaming, writing on Twitter: "More screams for help as the fire spreads to another side of the building."
Grenfell Tower fire: Live updates as 200 firefighters battle horror blaze at block of flats
Fabio Bebber, earlier tweeted live from the scene, and said: "We can see how quick the fire spreads via the external panels.
"It's unbearable hearing someone screaming for their lives at Grenfell Tower."
Another wrote: "Watching Grenfell Tower (24 storeys) burning in West London Latimer road area. All floors and columns burning."
George Clarke, the presenter of Amazing Spaces, told Radio 5 Live: "I was in bed and heard 'beep, beep, beep' and thought, 'I'll get up and run downstairs as quickly as I could'.
"I thought it might be a car alarm outside and saw the glow through the windows.
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"I'm getting covered in ash, that's how bad it is. I'm 100 metres away and I'm absolutely covered in ash.
"It's so heartbreaking, I've seen someone flashing their torches at the top level and they obviously can't get out.
"The guys are doing an incredible job to try and get people out that building, but it's truly awful."
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Actor and writer Tim Downie, who lives around 600 metres from the scene in Latimer Road, said he feared the block could collapse.
He said: "It's horrendous. The whole building is engulfed in flames. It's gone. It's just a matter of time before this building collapses.
"It's the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. I just hope they have got everyone out.
"The first I knew was the noise of sirens, helicopters and shouting. I saw it engulfed in flames."
(Photo: PA)
(Photo: Rex Features)
(Photo: London News Pictures Ltd)
"People have been bringing water, clothes, anything they've got to help, out to the cordon.
"I have seen people coming out in their bedclothes - it's just very distressing."
Meanwhile it's emerged residents had issued a chilling warning about fire safety just months before this morning’s blaze.
In a series of blog posts since 2013, a residents’ group called the Grenfell Action Group repeatedly criticised Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) - the company which manages the tower block - over its fire safety record.
It's also been claimed this morning that Theresa May’s new chief of staff was one of a series of housing ministers who “sat on” a report warning high-rise blocks like Grenfell Tower were vulnerable to fire for four years.
This morning Assistant Commissioner Dan Daly from the London Fire Brigade described the blaze as "large and very serious".
The Metropolitan Police have set up a casualty bureau for anyone concerned about their friends and family on 0800 0961 233.