倫敦大火至少12人喪生

Grief turned to anger as firefighters continued to battle one of London's biggest fire disasters in recent memory and leaders faced questions about possible fire safety violations.

Police say at least 12 people were killed as a rapidly-moving blaze raced through a 24-story apartment building in West London in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday, trapping residents.

The death toll was expected to rise as firefighters went floor by floor, dousing the remaining flames and searching for survivors and victims in the high-rise.

Grenfell Tower contained an estimated 120 apartments and was home to as many as 600 people. The building is in an ethnically diverse, densely populated West London's North Kensington area. Among those missing on Wednesday were a number of children.

Witnesses said they heard screams for help as the fire stormed through the floors, trapping residents who could be seen from windows flashing their cell phone lights in hopes of being rescued. Witnesses said some residents held small children from windows while other people jumped from the lower stories of the building.

As the building continued to burn after noon Wednesday, questions emerged on why the fire spread through the building so quickly in a city where a centuries-old history of disastrous fires has forced one of the world's most stringent fire codes.

Some residents evacuated from the building said they did not hear fire alarms. Some reported smelling burning plastic in the early moments of the fire, which broke out just after midnight. Questions pointed to non-existent or malfunctioning sprinklers, flammable plastic building components, and insufficient fire escapes.

Survivors also said they received orders from emergency workers to stay in their apartments, a standard fire procedure but one that angry residents said was the wrong thing to do this time.

Fire investigators said it was too early to tell what started the fire or caused it to spread so rapidly. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the focus Wednesday was on search and rescue, but “many, many people have legitimate questions that demand answers,” Khan said.

British Prime Minister Theresa May called an emergency meeting on dealing with the disaster. A spokesman for Number 10 Downing Street said May “is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life.”

Officials said it could be days before an investigation could yield any hint of what caused the fire or why it spread so quickly.消防人員繼續與倫敦多年來最大規模的火災搏鬥。與此同時，悲傷變成了憤怒，倫敦領導人要回答這次火災是否由防火安全違規而引發的問題。

這場星期三凌晨發生的大火燃燒迅速，很快吞噬了倫敦西部的一座24層公寓樓，把住戶困在大樓裏。警方說，至少有12人喪生。

消防人員逐層檢查，撲滅火焰，搜尋倖存者和遇害者，估計隨着搜救工作的繼續，死亡人數還會上升。

格倫菲爾居民樓位於族裔多樣、人口密集的倫敦北肯辛頓區。有關官員說，樓裏有大約120個公寓，住着多達600人。有一些孩子星期三上午在大火中失蹤。

目擊者說，大火迅速在各層樓之間蔓延，他們聽到有人呼救，可以看到被困在樓裏的居民在窗戶前，把手機燈光打開，希望以此獲救。目擊者說，一些居民在窗戶前抱着孩子，還有一些人從低樓層跳出。

星期三中午過後，大火繼續燃燒。有人提出質疑，爲什麼火災會在樓內如此迅速地蔓延。由於幾百年來反覆發生大火災，倫敦的消防規章是全世界最嚴格的。

一些從樓內轉移出來的居民說，他們沒有聽到火警。一些人報告說，午夜過後火災剛發生時，他們曾聞到塑料燒焦的氣味。有人指出，該公寓樓存在噴水滅火系統不存在或失靈、塑料建築部件易燃、火災逃生梯子不夠等問題。

倖存者還說，急救人員要他們待在公寓裏，這雖然是消防的常規程序，但這次卻是錯誤的。

火災調查人員說，現在還無法確認火災究竟是怎麼引起的，火災如此迅速蔓延的原因是什麼。倫敦市長薩迪克·汗說，眼下當務之急是搜尋和救援，但“很多很多人有合理的問題需要回答。”

英國首相特雷莎·梅召集緊急會議，商量救災事宜。她的發言人說：“特雷莎·梅首相對傷亡深感哀痛。”

有關官員說，調查要過一些日子才能得出結果，知道起火和火勢擴散迅速的原因。