Much of a 24-floor apartment building in London is engulfed in flames after a fire broke out about 1 a.m. (8 p.m. ET Tuesday).
Residents said they had warned repeatedly over fire safety in the block.
Some witness reports say children and a baby were seen being thrown out of windows amid the blaze.
The building contained 120 flats and was home to more than 200 people.
Some residents said the official advice was that people should stay inside in the event of a fire.
"My daughter's friend said she observed an adult who made some sort of homemade parachute and tried to lower himself out of the window", Lamrani said.
London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton confirmed the fire had resulted in "a number of fatalities".
Fire rips through the Grenfell Tower in London.
London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton confirmed "a number of fatalities" from the inferno which broke out just before 1am United Kingdom time and burned upwards from the second floor of the tower, but she declined to speculate on a cause of the fire. Others said they could see people inside using flashlights and mobile phones to try to signal for help from higher floors.
Damage caused by Wednesday's apartment complex fire in Kensington, England, is likely to largely be covered by reinsurance, according to Protector Forsikring ASA, the insurer for the building.
Eyewitness Jody Martin told the BBC: "I watched one person falling out, I watched another woman holding her baby out the window. hearing screams. I think he might have just had some broken bones and bruises".
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Hundreds of residents in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower have been evacuated from their flats in the burning building, and at least 70 people have been taken to five hospitals in the capital for treatment.
A justgiving page has been set up to help raise funds for those affected by the blaze and get them "back on their feet". The fire brigade could only help downstairs.
Refurbishment of the housing block had been completed a year ago and the Fire Brigades Union said something had gone badly wrong with fire prevention procedures at the building. The police, however, said it will take some time to confirm the cause of the fire.
They told AAP that a tower resident told them an exploding fridge had started the fire. "Also, the fire escape plan for the building told residents to stay in their apartments behind supposedly fire safe doors".
"This matter is of particular concern as there is only one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower during the improvement works", read a blog post by the Grenfell Action Group.
"You just don't know, right now we can only offer prayers", he said.
The British company that carried out the tower's 2016 refurbishment, Rydon, said in a statement its work "met all required building control, fire regulation, and health and safety standards".
"We've complained to council, " said Edward Daffarn, 55, who said nothing had been done to improve safety.
He declined to give any details of the number of people who may be missing.
'We will co-operate with the relevant authorities and emergency services and fully support their inquiries into the causes of this fire at the appropriate time'.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said many questions now need to be answered about tower blocks around the city.
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