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Horrified witnesses told how they saw people jumping from windows as high as the 15th floor of a tower block as a huge fire engulfed the building.

More than 200 firefighters were called to the 27-storey Grenfell Tower near Ladbroke Grove just after 1.15am as flames raged through the building while people slept in their beds.

Residents reportedly used bed sheets as makeshift ropes, while others are said to have jumped from their flats to escape the inferno as it tore through the building within minutes.

The London Fire Brigade confirmed there were "a number of fatalities" but could not confirm the total figure.

One witness, named only as Daniel, told the BBC: “Nobody could come out, they were trapped in there. They couldn't come down because the lift's the other side.

“I’ve seen people jump… one at least, 10-15 floors up.”

Another witness described the scenes as horrifying as the flames engulfed the block from the second floor up “within seconds”.

“I couldn't believe my eyes. When I came out people in the tower block were waving their phones, screaming ‘help, help, help’”, another witness said.

“The whole tower is engulfed in flames.”

Whalid Kalan, 44, who lives in a nearby street, said: "I've never seen anything like it before, we live just 700 metres away and the smoke and he dust covered all the cars there.

"It's just shock thinking about the children in the school nearby. We're worried that there is life lost."

The London Ambulance Service said 30 patients had been taken to hospital as a “major incident” was declared.

Jody Martin said he got to the scene as the first fire engine was arriving at Grenfell Tower.

He told the BBC: "I grabbed an axe from the fire truck, it looked like there was a bit of confusion about what to do.

"I ran around the building looking for a fire escape and couldn't see any noticeable fire escapes around the building. A lot of debris falling down.

"I eventually gained entry onto the second floor, and once I got to the corridor I realised there was so much smoke there."

He added that given the thickness of the smoke, he would be surprised if anyone could have left the building without assistance.

"I watched one person falling out, I watched another woman holding her baby out the window ... hearing screams, I was yelling everyone to get down and they were saying, 'We can't leave our apartments, the smoke is too bad on the corridors'," he said.

The cause of the fire in the block - which contains 120 flats - is not yet known.

Actor and writer Tim Downie, who lives around 600 metres from the scene in Latimer Road, said he fears the block could collapse.

"It's horrendous. The whole building is engulfed in flames. It's gone. It's just a matter of time before this building collapses.

"It's the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. I just hope they have got everyone out.

"The first I knew was the noise of sirens, helicopters and shouting. I saw it engulfed in flames.

"People have been bringing water, clothes, anything they've got to help, out to the cordon.

"I have seen people coming out in their bedclothes - it's just very distressing."

Fabio Bebber wrote on Twitter: "More screams for help as the fire spreads to another side of the building.

"We can see how quick the fire spreads via the external panels. It's unbearable hearing someone screaming for their lives at £grenfelltower."

George Clarke, who presents the Channel 4 TV show Amazing Spaces, told Radio 5 Live: "I'm getting covered in ash, that's how bad it is. I'm 100 metres away and I'm absolutely covered in ash.

"It's so heartbreaking, I've seen someone flashing their torches at the top level and they obviously can't get out.

"The guys are doing an incredible job to try and get people out that building, but it's truly awful."

Residents had warned that the building - which has around 120 flats reportedly served by a single main entrance - was a fire hazard last year when rubbish piled up in a communal walkway.

The Grenfell Action Group raised their concerns in a blog post last January, saying: “The potential for a fire to break out in the communal area on the walkway does not bear thinking about as residents would be trapped in the building with no way out.”

It was given a £10million refurbishment a year ago, with the installation of insulated exterior cladding, double-glazed windows and a communal heating system.

Kensington and Chelsea Council leader Nick Paget-Brown described the blaze as a "very, very severe fire".

He told Sky News: "Clearly it's an absolutely devastating fire.

"Several hundred would have been in there. It's a question of establishing how many people were in there at the time of the fire.

"I'm really not in any position to answer any questions about the structure.

"Clearly there's a lot more work to do to evacuate the building and to establish how safe it is."

London Fire Brigade assistant commissioner Dan Daly said: "Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus are working extremely hard in very difficult conditions to tackle this fire.

"This is a large and very serious incident and we have deployed numerous resources and specialist appliances."

London Ambulance said it had sent a "number of resources" to the scene, including its Hazardous Area Response Team.

London mayor Sadiq Khan tweeted: "Major incident declared at Grenfell Tower in Kensington" and urged people to follow London Fire Brigade on Twitter.