Fire engulfs west London tower block

Several people have been killed - and others remain trapped - in a large fire on a west London estate being battled by more than 200 firefighters and 40 fire engines. 

Hundreds of residents in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower have been evacuated from their flats in the burning building, and at least 50 people have been taken to five hospitals in the capital for treatment.

 Witnesses described hearing screams, watching people throw themselves out of the high-rise block and a woman holding a baby out of a window.
Others told of seeing people shouting and waving from the windows for help, and seeing people shining torches from within as the inferno erupted in the dead of night.
Footage on social media showed the building engulfed in fire, with huge flames stretching over a number of floors. 

The fire brigade said the fire had spread throughout the entire building, now covered in plumes of smoke with visible pockets of fire within the charred structure.
Mini explosions could be heard as the blaze shattered windows in the tower, while debris and ash fell to the ground. 
London Fire Brigade commissioner Dany Cotton confirmed there had been "a number of fatalities".

 "I cannot confirm the number at this time due to the size and complexity of this building," she said.
She described it as an "unprecedented incident", something she had not seen in her 29 years of service.
The cause of the blaze is not yet known, but is being investigated, she added.

Reporting from the scene in the immediate aftermath of the blaze, Sky News  producer Dan Cairns said residents had been told that if they received calls for help from people inside, to tell them they needed to try and "self-evacuate".
He said they had been told "to put a cloth over their mouths and try to get out by themselves".