Fire in London: footage captured by plane passenger shows scale of inferno

Dramatic aerial footage shows the scale of the blaze that tore through a tower block in Notting Hill in the early hours of this morning.

The huge plumes of smoke billowing from Grenfell Tower in Lancester West estate could be seen from the sky, as airline passengers filmed the devastating fire from planes.

London Fire Brigade has confirmed a number of people have died, but could not say how many were killed due to the “complexity” of the operation.

Firefighters declared the towering inferno as a major incident in the early hours of Wednesday morning after being called shortly before 1am as flames engulfed the block.

The huge fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday morning
Jason Hawkes

Horrifying images from the scene show the level of devastation caused as the fire raged through the 27-storey building near Ladbroke Grove.

And footage taken from helicopters and planes show the scale of the incident the emergency services were scrambled to as the fire spread through the entire block.

The dramatic images were taken as travellers passed over London skies this morning, capturing the massive plumes of thick smoke that billowed into the air.

Aerial footage shows the scale of the towering inferno as smoke is seen billowing into the sky

Fleets of emergency services surrounded the area in west London as shocked on-lookers watched the terrifying scenes continue.

Dany Cotton, the London Fire Brigade commissioner, said: “This is an unprecedented incident. In my 29 years of being a firefighter I have never ever seen anything of this scale.

She added: “At this time I am very sad to confirm that there have been a number of fatalities. I cannot confirm the number at this time due to the size and complexity of this building, and it would clearly be wrong for me to speculate further.”

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