58 missing and presumed dead in London apartment fire

For two days, May's government has struggled to respond to the fire at Grenfell Tower, opened four decades ago as state-subsidised housing.

Sixteen bodies have been removed from the blackened, 24-story public housing unit, and the first victim was formally identified as Mohammed Alhajali, 23, a Syrian refugee.

Around 70 people are missing, according to Britain's Press Association, and identification of the victims is proving very hard.

The death toll rose to 30 on Friday but authorities warned it would increase further, as fire crews picked their way through the wreckage of the building which was engulfed in flames in the early hours of Wednesday.

Later, hundreds of mourners stood arm in arm at a vigil and held a two-minute silence for victims of the fire.

After she met with fire victims, volunteers and local leaders, British Prime Minister Theresa May said support for families following the fire was "not good enough".

A catastrophic blaze at a London apartment tower has brought new scrutiny to a long-accepted, counterintuitive rule for people in tall buildings: If the blaze breaks out elsewhere in the structure, don't automatically run for the stairs.

In a television interview, Mrs May said the fire was "absolutely horrifying" and had been a "terrifying experience" for those affected.

After a tumultuous week that pitched Britain into its deepest political crisis since the Brexit referendum a year ago, May's future was already uncertain due to her failed gamble on a snap election.

Mrs May arrived in Downing Street on Saturday where she is chairing the Government taskforce on the calamity.

Residents caught up in the fire have previously condemned the relief effort as "absolute chaos".

Asked repeatedly whether she had misread the public mood, May did not answer directly but said the focus was on providing support to the victims.

She added: "I have ordered that more staff be deployed across the area, wearing high visibility clothing, so they can easily be found, dispense advice and ensure the right support is provided".

The local authority, which owns the tower block where families rent their homes, says it is doing all it can to support the victims and to help the relief operation.

"But it is a awful tragedy". Many wealthier residents have opened up their homes to tenants who fled the tower, or others who were evacuated because their flats were too close to the blaze.

"I am now pleased to say that as of this afternoon we are now back in Grenfell tower". "But we try to make sure people know there are features and redundancies in buildings that you can count on, and you can stay put". Community groups have said that warnings about poor fire safety have always been ignored, and that in the aftermath of the disaster, officials failed to immediately take care of those affected.

"The government has taken action on the recommendations of the coroner's report", she insisted. "We have identified those buildings and now and over the weekend people are going in and inspecting those buildings".

Yesterday, Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Cambridge met volunteers, residents and community representatives while visiting Westway Sports Centre, near the charred remains of the tower block in north Kensington.