Controversial materials used to insulate Grenfell Tower may have helped turn a small fire into a deadly raging inferno.
Dozens of people are feared dead and many others remain missing after the devastating blaze ripped through the 27-storey housing block in White City, west London.
Seventy eight people were taken to hospital, with 18 fighting for lives in critical condition, as more than 600 residents tried desperately to escape the flames that broke out at around 1am on Wednesday.
Bodies were strewn through the charred block including in its lobby and undertakers were seen removing the dead in a delicate and treacherous recovery operation set to last several days.
It is believed that the death toll could reach more than 100, but police have said it is not possible to confirm how many people are unaccounted for because the building is still on fire nearly 24 hours after it started.
A series of blunders are being blamed for the disaster with residents claiming there were no working fire alarms, no sprinklers and the only staircase leading to safety was blocked.
Experts were last night focusing their blame for the scale of the disaster on external cladding fitted to the block only last year.
It was made from metal panels and slabs of a polystyrene-like material, separated by a small cavity, fixed to the concrete surface of the outside of the tower.
Source Daily Mail
