London firefighters combed through a burned-out public housing tower Thursday in a grim search for missing people as police and the prime minister launched investigations into the deadly inferno, with pressure building on officials to explain the disaster and assure that similar buildings around the country are safe.
The death toll from the Grenfell Tower fire in west London has risen to 17.
Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "Sadly I can confirm that the number of people who have died is now 17".
Flammable cladding has been blamed for helping to spread severe fires elsewhere in the world, including a blaze at the Lacrosse tower block in Melbourne, Australia, in 2014.
The London Fire Brigade says its crews were able to rescue 65 people from the building.
The Fire Brigades Union, which represents most of Britain's firefighters, earlier said the firefighters and other emergency personnel were "doing a particularly hard job".
May said an inquiry, which is an official review of government action, was needed to ensure "this awful tragedy is properly investigated".
Questions are mounting over opportunities that were potentially missed to prevent the deaths caused by the Grenfell Tower fire, after it emerged that ministers had been warned several times about the cladding used in the building's regeneration.
The residents of the Grenfell Tower block have been failed and betrayed by the local council, the new Labour MP for Kensington, Emma Dent Coad, has said, expressing fury at the way Kensington and Chelsea treats its social housing tenants.
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The monarch and the Duke of Edinburgh also hail volunteers offering support to dozens of victims from the devastating blaze.
The queen said: "Prince Philip and I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of firefighters and other emergency services officers who put their own lives at risk to save others".
Speaking from the scene, as family and friends of Grenfell residents continued the desperate search for information about the whereabouts of their loved ones, Mr Cundy said: "There are still a number of people who are receiving treatment in hospital".
Families were also concerned about two young Italian architects who were missing.
It would be a "miracle" if anyone else were found alive, Cotton said. She says "we like to think of ourselves as "roughty, toughty" and heroes -they are heroes -but they have feelings, and people were absolutely devastated".
"I spoke to one of my officers who was very near when someone came out the window, and he was in tears and he is a professional fire officer", Cotton told Sky News. As the fire burned ferociously Wednesday, there were concerns the building might collapse.
Having campaigned against poor social housing in the borough for decades and documented the poor quality of estate redevelopment schemes, she said: "I can't help thinking that poor quality materials and construction standards may have played a part in this disgusting and unforgivable event". Its 24 floors were consumed by flames as inhabitants attempted to escape.
Missing people posters have been put up throughout North Kensington. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has offered free food for survivors at one of his nearby eateries. "There are flames around us", Trevisan told her mother in a final phone call, family lawyer Maria Cristina Sandrin said.
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