The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that 17 people are dead, but the
death toll is expected to rise, after the huge fire outbreak that
engulfed a 24-storey residential apartment tower in West London.
These
first pictures show the complete devastation left behind. Blown out
windows, melted kitchen tables and washing machines, and other personal
belongings were completely destroyed inside the apartments.
Firefighters
are carefully going through the building to search for survivors, but
it’s still too risky for now to try to recover them from the upper
floors of the unstable tower. Structural surveyors, Urban search and
rescue specialists would inspect the building today and once it’s
declared safe, a full search would take place. London fire chief Dany
Cotton said;
“Tragically now we are not expecting to find anyone
else alive. The severity and the heat of the fire would mean it is an
absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive. Some of the internal
structures are not regarded as safe at the moment, however the central
core is, so my firefighters have been up to the top floor last night,
they have done the initial brief search from the doorways. So although
we’ve been up there we haven’t managed to do a comprehensive search and
until we can make the building safe then I really don’t want to risk the
safety of my firefighters at this moment in time.”