A massive fire engulfs a 27-story apartment building in western London early Wednesday. (Photo/Agencies)
A massive fire engulfed a 27-story apartment building in western London early Wednesday three hours after police received the first report of the blaze.
The Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate, built in the 1970s and renovated several times, contains 120 homes. It is feared many are trapped inside the blazing building as the fire broke out in the wee hours of Wednesday.
Live broadcast by SkyNews showed one side of the building totally blackened, with heavy smoke billowing into the air.
Local reports cited witnesses as saying they saw people jumping from the building to escape the fire and they heard screams for help as well.
The London Ambulance Service said earlier it sent "a number of resources." Reports say that at least two people have been treated for smoke inhalation there.
Currently, there are 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters working on the scene. A latest twitter feed by the London Fire Brigade declared the fire a major incident.
The Metropolitan Police have closed major road A40 due to the fire and asked people to avoid the area so as to allow emergency services to get to the scene.
Police received report of the fire at the building at 1:16 a.m. local time (0016 GMT). (Updated)
