Londoners help survivors of deadly apartment building fire

Residents from across London have sprung into action to help survivors of a massive apartment building fire, offering clothes, blankets, food and many other daily supplies. Photo grabbed from Reuters video file.
Residents from across London have sprung into action to help survivors of a massive apartment building fire in West London. From Reuters video file.

UNITED KINGDOM (Reuters) – Residents from across London have sprung into action to help survivors of a massive apartment building fire, offering clothes, blankets, food and many other daily supplies.

In the Latymer neighborhood a few hundred meters away from the torched building, a relief center has been set up and many Londoners have come with bags and even whole shopping carts of food, water and clothes, offering much-needed help to the victims. Some people have donated cash.

Meanwhile, temporary reception centers have been set up in many neighborhoods across the city to accommodate the survivors.

Twelve people have been confirmed dead in the blaze which ripped through the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London in the early hours of Wednesday.

Seventy-eight people were taken to the hospital and 18 of them are reportedly in critical condition.

Some 500 people were said to live in the 120-unit building. So far, many remain missing.

Those who escaped were deeply worried about the fate of their loved ones.

A resident named Syeda Jaffari said her husband’s family lived in the building, and now her father-in-law remains unaccounted for.

Police say the death toll is expected to rise.