HARROWING images taken today show flames still burning inside the fire-ravaged Grenfell Tower flats.
Officials fear the death toll could go past 100 as a fire chief revealed it would “be a miracle” to pull anyone out alive.
One eerie picture shows a battered fridge, charred oven and a blackened washing machine in a family’s ruined kitchen.
Cooking pots and a clothes dryer lie strewn across the floor in the windowless flat as a small fire burns in the corner.
Cooking pots and a clothes dryer lie strewn across the floor in the windowless flat as a small fire burns in the corner.
Another image posted on Twitter shows firefighters searching the tower’s smoky corridors following the devastating inferno which has killed at least 17 people.
London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton today said they are not expecting to find any survivors after a fire tore through the tower block as harrowing first pictures from inside the gutted building emerged.
A local councillor has now told Sky News’ Adam Boulton that emergency services fear more than 100 people perished in the blaze which started just before 1am on Wednesday.
The journalist tweeted: “This from @paulwaugh . I’m told by a London council source that the emergency services are expecting the number of deaths to be more than 100”.
The devastating inferno has finally been put out by hardworking firefighters working through the night but it is too dangerous for them to reach the edges.
There are also still pockets of fire coming from the smouldering shell of the charred tower block – but fire officials have said the blaze is officially out.
Prime Minister Theresa May visited the gutted site today before ordering a full public inquiry.
Officials today revealed 37 people are still being treated in hospital, with 17 considered critical.
Seventeen people have been confirmed dead after the fire ravaged the West London tower block in the early hours of yesterday morning – but police say this figure is expected to rise.
Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “Sadly I can confirm that the number of people who have died is now 17.
“We do believe that that number will sadly increase.”
“We do believe that that number will sadly increase.”
The LFB Commissioner said: “There is still smoke smoke coming from the building. We are working very hard at the moment to contain the last pockets of fire.
“There are obviously a number of people who are critically ill in hospital and there are as we believe unknown numbers of people in the building.
“Due to the severity of the fire and the way things are it will take us a long time to be able to do that search to properly if anyone left in the building but we will do that as soon as we can in conjunction with the police.
“Tragically, now, we are not expecting to find anyone else alive. The severity and the heat of the fire will mean it would be an absolute miracle for anyone to be left alive.”
The building “lit up like matchsticks” as the inferno spread through cladding that had been fitted in 2015 as part of a £9 million refurbishment.
The gutted remains of the building today after the fire raged through Tuesday night[/caption]
Frantic residents trapped inside the burning building jumped from windows in a bid to escape.
Others threw their children to safety as they desperately tried to avoid being burnt alive.
At least 400 people lived in the 120-flat building, but it is not clear how many were in the tower block at the time of the blaze.
More than 500 emergency service crew members - including around 300 firefighters - were scrambled to the scene after blaze took hold.
Ms Cotton today paid tribute to the brave firefighters who risked their lives and worked tirelessly to rescue those trapped inside.
And she revealed it will "take weeks" for fire crews to clear the building as there is a risk of falling debris.
She added: "I can't thank enough the emergency services working together and others who came to volunteer. It has been truly outstanding.
"Some of my senior officers are flying back from holiday, [...] people volunteering, I had night watch crews who should have gone off duty at 9.30am who were still her at 4pm and 5pm last night. There were no moans, they just wanted to carry on doing it and carry on helping.
"It's truly affected a lot of people. It's the worst thing I have ever seen. It's horrendous, a major incident of a large scale, that involved so many people it was beyond belief.
"Words cannot describe it - it was truly awful."
The Commissioner said it was "too early" to speculate on the cause of the fire, but reports have suggested a faulty fridge in a forth floor flat may have sparked the blaze.
Fire crews are now undergoing a "painstaking search" with police to identify victims of the fire and hunt for clues.
Ms Cotton also paid tribute to those who leaped from windows and lashed bedsheets together to escape the inferno.
She said: "Can you imagine the desperation you must feel to do that to yourself?
"To drop your child, or jump yourself... and for my crews who were on the ground who witnessed it happening it was truly horrible and shocking."
Those who were lucky enough to make it out alive have revealed their horror at discovering their only escape route was "littered" with bodies.
MPs including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and London Mayor Sadiq Khan have called for a full public inquiry into the disaster.
Corbyn said said "the truth has got to come out and will come out" as he visited volunteers helping after the Grenfell Tower fire.
Volunteers rallied together in the wake of the tragedy to help the hundreds of people made homeless with clothing and food donations.
It has since emerged community centres have with been flooded with so many supplies they have had to turn new donations away.
Churches, mosques and sports centres have opened their doors to help victims of the tragedy.
Dozens of families spent the night in Westway Sports Centre, where the relief effort is being coordinated.
Harris Iqbal, of Penny Appeal, said: "The community response has been phenomenal - all faith groups, mosques, churches and gurdwaras have opened their doors, charity organisations and everyone have collaborated in a way I've never seen in London before."
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