In Britain, a massive fire in downtown London

A massive fire in downtown London

In west London on Wednesday morning. 12 people have been killed and 18 people are in critical care after 79 injured people were taken to hospital in a huge fire that ripped through a west London tower block, but police expect the death toll to rise.
But many are still missing after residents were left trapped on upper floors as flames rapidly ripped up the block after initially being told to stay in their homes.

People trapped by the advancing flames and thick smoke banged on windows and screamed for help, and survivors said There's people throwing their kids out and other small children from high windows to people down on the sidewalk, witnesses said.

Firefighters carried out systematic searches throughout the charred wreckage and officials urged tower residents to call a hotline to help them get a handle on the number of missing where up to 600 people lived in 120 apartments.

There was no word on the cause of the blaze, but emerged residents of Grenfell Tower voiced concerns about the building's fire safety last year, angry residents said they had warned local authorities about fire issues at Grenfell Tower. The housing block, built in 1974, was recently upgraded at a cost of 8.7 million pound , with work finishing in May 2016.

More than 250 firefighters were called to the block on the Lancaster West Estate, in north Kensington, at about one am. Several firefighters also suffered minor injuries in the blaze. More than 200 firefighters, backed up by 40 fire engines, fought for hours to try to control the fire.