Massive fire rages through London tower block

LONDON — Dozens of people have been taken to the hospital and more are feared trapped after a massive blaze tore through an apartment block in London.

The Guardian reports that the fire started shortly before 1 a.m. on Wednesday inside the 27-storey Grenfell Tower in West London.

Residents encountered corridors and stairwells thick with smoke as they fled the building, which lacked a central fire alarm.

The blaze quickly engulfed the building, raging from the second floor all the way to the top. Two hundred firefighters and 40 fire trucks were on site to battle the inferno, which continued for hours.

Authorities have reported that people have died, but could not confirm how many. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

A resident group had repeatedly warned that Grenfell was a fire risk, and it reportedly had already narrowly avoided a fire in 2013.