London's Mayor Sadiq Khan said the death toll from Wednesday's fire is expected to rise [Toby Melville/Reuters] The death toll from a tower block fire in West London is expected to rise as rescue workers continue to tackle the blaze a day after it started.
At least 12 people died and more than 70 were injured after a fire broke out inside Grenfell Tower just after midnight on Wednesday with the number of dead expected to jump, according to the city’s mayor.
"Sadly, it has been confirmed that 12 people are now known to have died as a result of the horrific fire at Grenfell Tower, a figure which I am afraid is expected to increase," said Sadiq Khan in a statement published on his website.
Khan also confirmed that checks would also be carried out on other similar tower blocks to ensure they were not at risk.
Emergency services battled throughout the day to put the fire out but late into Wednesday the blackened husk of the building, where up to 600 people are believed to have lived, continued to glow orange because of the flames inside.
As many as 600 people are believed to have lived in the building [Natalie Oxford/AFP]
Details are still emerging about the desperate attempts made by residents to escape the high-rise, as well as questions about whether safety regulations were neglected by local authorities in the run-up to the fire.
Sarmad Ismail, a resident of a nearby building, told Al Jazeera he saw a man in the tower trying to get the attention of those outside.
"I remember one Chinese or Asian man still stuck and he was just waving his trousers out the window," Ismail said. "Nobody was helping him.. It was shocking and it still hasn't sunk in."
By Wednesday morning, police had cordoned off the area and crowds of people gathered outside trying to get word about friends and family members who are missing.
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