A son saved his mother by carrying her down 23 flights of stairs as the fire in Grenfell raged on, according to a friend of the family.

The father of the son’s best friend, Fahim Mazhary told BuzzFeed News that 24-year-old Shekeb Neda saved his mother Flora's life by getting her out of the building.

The Grenfell blaze began at around 12.50 am on Wednesday morning, its cause remains unknown. So far the at least 17 people are confirmed dead with police warning that the number is likely to rise - dozens of people are still reported missing.

Neda's uncle, Aref explained to The Sun that Flora suffers from a muscle disease and was unable to escape because of the smoke.

Shekeb needed to get her out quickly. He took her arms, put them around his neck and carried her over his back down all 24 floors.

Mr Neda and his mother are said to be currently in critical condition in hospital, while his father, Mohammed Neda is still missing.

London's ambulance service confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that 64 victims of the Grenfell fire had been taken to hospital with around 20 in critical care - a further 10 people are said to have made their own way to hospital.

Mr Mazhary, a friend of the family, told BuzzFeed News:

I've been in aid work, I've been in Iraq, a war zone, and I've never seen anything like that. And in a developed country. The fire was tearing through the floors.

While another relative of the family told The Sun that Neda is "the most loving and caring man".

Police have opened an investigation into the horrific incident.

Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said:

This will need to be a lot of work between us and other investigating agencies to establish what has happened and why and that is going to take a considerable period of time.