Fire broke out at a 27-story apartment building in West London early Wednesday morning, requiring at least 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters, according to the London Fire Brigade.
"Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus are working extremely hard in very difficult conditions to tackle this fire," said Assistant Commissioner Dan Daly in a statement. "This is a large and very serious incident and we have deployed numerous resources and specialist appliances."
Authorities initially received the call at 12:54 a.m. to the fire that stretched from the second floor to the top. Metropolitan Police said "an evacuation process is under way," the BBC reported.
There were indications that people were trapped in the burning building, according to media accounts. Trapped residents were reported to have built ropes from sheets to escape from windows.
"I'm 100 meters away and I'm absolutely covered in ash," one eyewitness told Radio 5 Live. "It's so heartbreaking, I've seen someone flashing their torches at the top level and they obviously can't get out."
The residential block holds 120 homes, according to The Guardian. The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.
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