AT least 12 people have died after huge fire destroyed a tower block in west London and the death toll is expected to rise still further.

Flames tore up the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in north Kensington, leaving people trapped on upper floors, including children, some holding babies from windows and others jumping from their flats.

Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "I can confirm six fatalities at this time but this figure is likely to rise during what will be a complex recovery operation over a number of days. Many others are receiving medical care."

This afternoon the Metropolitan Police confirmed that 12 people have died 'and will rise further'

A total of 68 people have been taken to six hospitals with 18 in critical care.

Cmdr Cundy said it was likely to be some time before police are able to identify the victims, adding that it was too early to speculate on the cause of the fire.

Earlier London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said there had been a "number of fatalities" but could not say how many due to the size and complexity of the building.

She told reporters: "This is an unprecedented incident.

"In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never ever seen anything of this scale."

She said firefighters had only managed to get to the 19th and 20th storeys of the building.

Residents who escaped the inferno complained there had been no fire alarm, with people relying on neighbours to wake them as the blaze spread.

They said official advice in the event of a fire had been to stay inside.

Mickey Paramasivan, who was in his seventh floor flat with his partner and child, said: "If we'd listened to them and stayed in the flat we'd have perished."

London Fire Brigade said the cause of the fire was still being investigated.

But several residents reported one man had said it started in his faulty fridge.

Samira Lamrani, 38, said: "He was just beside himself.

"He was just as surprised at how quickly the fire spread as anybody else.

"I could hear him saying that he contacted the emergency services immediately and they reassured him everything would be under control within a short period of time, and obviously it wasn't."

Residents said refurbishment work had recently been carried out, with cladding on the outside of the structure and work on the gas supply.

A residents action group said its warnings about safety had fallen on "deaf ears".

A blog post from the Grenfell Action Group in November 2016 said "only a catastrophic event" would expose the concerns residents had.

The group said there was one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower during improvement works and it had issues with evacuation procedures.

Following the fire, the group posted: "All our warnings fell on deaf ears and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time."

Pictures from the scene showed flames engulfing the block and a plume of smoke visible across the capital, while others showed residents looking out of windows in the block.

The leader of Kensington and Chelsea Borough Nick Paget-Brown said "several hundred" people would have been in the block when the fire broke out.

Actor and writer Tim Downie, who lives around 600 metres from the scene in Latimer Road, told the Press Association 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.

"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."

Jody Martin said he got to the scene just as the first fire engine was arriving.

He told the BBC: "I watched one person falling out, I watched another woman holding her baby out the window... hearing screams, I was yelling everyone to get down and they were saying 'We can't leave our apartments, the smoke is too bad on the corridors'."

Fabio Bebber wrote on Twitter: "More screams for help as the fire spreads to another side of the building.

"We can see how quick the fire spreads via the external panels. It's unbearable hearing someone screaming for their lives at #grenfelltower."

George Clarke, who presents the Channel 4 TV show 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.

"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."

Shortly after 6am, London Ambulance Service said 30 people had been taken to five hospitals.

More than 200 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze which was reported just before 1am on Wednesday.

Fire crews were on the scene within six minutes.

London mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted: "Major incident declared at Grenfell Tower in Kensington" and urged people to follow London Fire Brigade on Twitter.

Former chancellor and now editor of the Evening Standard George Osborne tweeted: "Just seen this awful tower block fire near my home in W London. My prayers with those affected & heroes tackling it."

Grenfell Action Group said there was one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower during improvement works at the block and it had issues with evacuation procedures.

Following the fire, the group posted: "All our warnings fell on deaf ears and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time."

An acrid column of smoke could be seen rising from the building this morning.

The charred structure still had pockets of flame rising from several storeys as desperate efforts to bring the blaze under control continued.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald:

  • Residents of a nearby block watch smoke billowing from a fire that engulfed 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Picture: Rick Findler/PA Wire

Schoolboy Omar Kalam, 11, was standing anxiously at the emergency service cordon with father Walid, 44.

"My brother has friends and they live in there," he said. "I'm not sure if they are all right yet."

Parents from nearby Kensington Aldridge Academy, where Omar attends, had been told the school was closed, his father said.

The Metropolitan Police have set up a casualty bureau for anyone concerned about their friends and family on 0800 0961 233.

Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "I can confirm there have been a number of fatalities and others receiving medical care. We will be soon making contact with next of kin."

The force said it was "likely to take some time before we are in a position to confirm the cause of the fire".

At 8.15am, London Ambulance Service said paramedics had taken more than 50 patients to five hospitals.

London mayor Sadiq Khan told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's very distressing, not just for those of us watching as lay people, but also very distressing for the emergency services.

"We declared a major incident very early, which meant not just the fire service but also the London Ambulance Service, the police and the others were involved at the scene."

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald:

  • Emergency services after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London. Picture: Rick Findler/PA Wire

More than 100 police officers were on scene, alongside 100 medics and 250 firefighters, he said.

Pressed on reports that residents had been advised to stay inside their flats in the event of a fire, Mr Khan said: "Thankfully residents didn't stay in their flats and fled to safety.

"One of the concerns that we have is it's a 24-storey building but for obvious reasons, with the scale of the fire, our experts weren't able to reach all the way to the top, so of course these are questions that need to be answered as soon as possible."

In a statement, Kensington and Chelsea Council said that at "present all our focus is on supporting the rescue and relief operation" adding that the "cause of the fire will be fully investigated".

  • Anyone wanting to donate items for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, for distribution via the Red Cross, can hand them in to Newquest offices, including 100 Victoria Road, Swindon, SN1 3BE, and at 15 Duke Street, Trowbridge, BA14 8EF, during office hours