London fire: Narrow escape for Thai family (Updated)

The BBC Thai service reports that at least one Thai family had a narrow escape from the massive fire that tore through the London Grenfall apartment complex yesterday.

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Thursday midday update

Narrow escape for Thai family

The BBC Thai service reports that at least one Thai family had a narrow escape from the massive fire that tore through the London Grenfall apartment complex yesterday.

Waewta Suparerksanon, 62, a Thai national living on the 10th floor, told BBC Thai that she and four other members of her family  made it to safety at 4am, three hours after the fire broke out.

She told BBC Thai that she was watching TV at 1am when she heard a commotion outside her flat and she opened her door to discover the fire. She had her sister call the emergency services and the operator told them to stay in their flat.

The family stayed there until 4am until the situation became too dangerous to stay longer. She opened the door and called for help, waving a cloth hoping that someone would see them. Soon afterward, a firefighter came and helped them to safety

Here's more from our online reporters:

The Foreign Ministry confirmed two of three Thai families living in a fire-gutted apartment complex in London were safe, while authorities were seeking information from other Thais living in Britain about the third family.

The Thai embassy in London was able to contact two of the three Thai families living in London's Grenfell Tower apartment complex and all members of the two families were safe, ministry spokeswoman Busadee Santipitak said on Thursday.

Thursday morning update

The police have now said that at least 12 people were killed at Grenfell Tower in west London and they expect the number to rise

Wednesday evening update

The police have said six people were killed at Grenfell Tower in west London and that they expect that number to rise as emergency workers make their way through the building.

The ambulance service said 64 people had been hospitalised, 20 of whom were in a critical condition.

Afternoon update

London fire: First deaths reported, many people "unaccounted for"

AFP – London Fire Brigade chief Dany Cotton said there had been "a number of fatalities" in what she called an "unprecedented" blaze.

"I cannot confirm the number at this time due to the size and complexity of this building," she told reporters at the scene in west London.

"This is an unprecedented incident. In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never ever seen anything of this scale," she said.

The ambulance service said 50 people had been hospitalised.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said firefighters were only able to reach the 12th floor at the height of the blaze during the night.

"A lot of people are unaccounted for," he told Sky News television.

Cotton said the building's structural integrity was being monitored and it was stable enough for fire crews to work inside.

"We rescued a large number of people from inside the building very early on," she said, adding that she had spoken to firefighters who had reached the 19th and 20th floors.

Morning story

Fire engulfs tower block in west London

AFP – A massive fire ripped through a 27-storey apartment block in west London in the early hours of Wednesday, trapping residents inside as 200 firefighters battled the blaze.

Witnesses could hear screaming from the upper floors as the flames rose and one desperate resident could be seen waving a white cloth.

Police and fire services attempted to evacuate the concrete block and said "a number of people are being treated for a range of injuries", including at least two for smoke inhalation. Emergency services now say at least 30 people were injured.

Frantic families at the scene attempted to call their loved ones stuck inside and were being directed by police to a nearby restaurant where some of the injured were being treated.

The fire brigade said 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters had been called to the blaze in Grenfell Tower, which has 120 flats.

The ambulance service said it had sent more than 20 ambulance crews to the scene.

"Fire is from 2nd to top floor of 27 storey building," the fire service said on Twitter.

Firefighters at the scene said they had managed to evacuate residents up to the 11th floor.

Police were also clearing out nearby buildings because of fears about falling debris.

"Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus are working extremely hard in very difficult conditions to tackle this fire," London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Dan Daly said.

"This is a large and very serious incident and we have deployed numerous resources and specialist appliances," he said.

London mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted: "Major incident declared at Grenfell Tower".

Actor and writer Tim Downie, who lives nearby, 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".

Police said in a statement they were called at 1:16am (0016 GMT) "to reports of a large fire at a block of flats in the Lancaster West Estate".

The apartment block was built in 1974.

Local residents had warned a year ago about a potential fire risk caused by rubbish being allowed to accumulate during improvement works.

"This matter is of particular concern as there is only one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower during the improvement works," read a blog post by the Greenfell Action Group.

"The potential for a fire to break out in the communal area on the walkway does not bear thinking about as residents would be trapped in the building with no way out," it said.

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