To reach the upper floors because of intense heat and falling debris. This is a completely unprecedented fire. In my 29 years in the London Fire Brigade i have never seen a fire of this nature, and i have seen many high rise fires. Residents have been taking shelter in nearby community centres, some are still looking for missing relatives. She said we cant do it because the smoke is killing her, the smoke is coming. The smoke is coming through the doors, shes keep covering it but. Its everywhere. And that was the last time we heard from her. Theres no word yet on the cause of the blaze. Residents say they had raised concerns about fire safety in the block. Dozens of people are being treated in londons hospitals, 18 are said to be in a critical condition. The block had recently been refurbished. Ministers have ordered urgent checks on buildings where similar work has been carried out. Stay with bbc news throughout the evening for all the developments from our correspondents at the scene
We are united in our shock. We are united in our anguish. We are united in our shock. We are united in ouranguish. An we are united in our shock. We are united in our anguish. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. Welcome to this Special Edition of Bbc World News as firefighters in west london are still at the scene of a horrendous fire that has killed at least 12 people. The blaze at the 2a storey tower block began in the early hours of wednesday morning. Many people are still missing and the police have warned the number of dead is expected to rise significantly. Our special coverage begins with this report from our uk home editor, mark easton. Oh my god, theyre screaming it is a tragedy that plays to our darkest fears. There was smoke everywhere, literally everywhere. There was people downstairs, bits of the block, cladding, falling off the block. That was on fire. Screaming. People screaming. It wasjust people jumping out, literally. And putting sheets down to try to ge