A raging fire that engulfed a 24-story residential apartment building early Wednesday morning (June 14) in West London has taken the lives of six people and sent more than 60 to the hospital as terrifying images have gripped a nation still raw from a recent series of terror attacks. According to the Guardian, the blaze that quickly spread through Grenfell Tower near Notting Hill while many residents slept came after years of concerns from the building’s residents association about a number of potential safety issues.
As the scene unfolded over social media and TV screens overnight and into the morning a number of English musicians and media personalities — including Sam Smith, Rita Ora, Estelle and Piers Morgan — sent their thoughts and prayers to the victims. The scary images come less than two weeks after London was rocked by a series of attacks on London Bridge that killed eight people and a May 22 bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester that took the lives of 22.
Here are some of the comments shared on Twitter about the tragedy:
Horrifying news to wake up to this morning in London. My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims xxxx
— Sam Smith (@samsmithworld) June 14, 2017
Shocked and devastated to hear this terrible news. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this horrific tragedy in west London pic.twitter.com/0pqT6WZBvU
— Rita Ora (@RitaOra) June 14, 2017
Pray that people got out safely!!!!!#LondonFire #LondonStrong
— Estelle (@EstelleDarlings) June 14, 2017
I’m truly devastated to see the horrific scenes of the major fire at #GrenfellTower in #Kensington. My statement: https://t.co/cVKB8L6IyW pic.twitter.com/mlPngrmy8T
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) June 14, 2017
awww man. London? damb. #londonfire
— Questlove Gomez (@questlove) June 14, 2017
Horrendous news to wake up to. Praying for everyone caught in this dreadful fire. #kensington #london pic.twitter.com/TFlM8LAMLY
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 14, 2017
Respect to the brave firefighters from the London Fire Brigade who risked their lives to save people at #GrenfellTower @fbunational pic.twitter.com/I4k2qHjYyY
— Billy Bragg (@billybragg) June 14, 2017
Authorities expect the death toll in the fire to rise as firefighters continue to work their way through the building. “In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never, ever seen anything of this scale,” London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton told The New York Times. Billboard will update this story as it develops.