(UPDATE: June 16th @ 7:30 a.m.) - The death toll is now over 30 following Wednesday's fire at Grenfell Tower in London.
There are still 20 firefighters and four fire engines on scene with much of the building left to be searched.
People affected by the #GrenfellTower fire need your help NOW.
— British Red Cross (@BritishRedCross) June 16, 2017
Please donate to the #London Fire Relief Fund: https://t.co/c97mKtNlu8 pic.twitter.com/oGxGVyKgYK
It's feared that the death toll could reach triple figures by the time all is said and done.
"It is very hard to find the words to express how those families affected must be feeling, and it is our job to work tirelessly to provide them with the answers they so richly deserve," said police commander, Stuart Cundy. "A priority of each and every one of us involved in the ongoing operation at Grenfell Towers is to recover and identify all the victims."
While crews continued the ongoing recovery mission on Friday morning, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince William visited residents and others that were affected by the fire at one of the relief centres in Kensington.
The Queen and The Duke are meeting members of the emergency services, as well as local residents and community representatives. pic.twitter.com/Mx9ZaVNSU7
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 16, 2017
(Original story: June 15th @ 6:40 a.m.) - More than 36 hours after the Grenfell Tower fire started, 60 firefighters and eight fire engines remain on scene.
The death toll, which is still expected to rise, is now at 17 and London’s Fire Commissioner, Dany Cotton, says they will be there for “days to come.”
#GrenfellTower update: @LFBCommissioner on what we're doing today. She
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) June 15, 2017
says crews will be there for 'days to come' https://t.co/WVA0PBWlRS pic.twitter.com/r3CDec26RW
“Sadly we are not expecting to find any more survivors and the operation is now one of recovery rather than rescue,” said Cotton, who has said multiple times that she’s never seen a fire like this during her 29-year career.
Firefighters worked with the gas authority overnight to isolate a ruptured gas main and once this was completed, they were able to fully extinguish the fire.
The fire was finally labelled as under control at 1:14 a.m. local time, two minutes short of 24 hours after the first 911 calls were received.
With many trapped on the top few floors, crews are working to stabilize the structure so they can safely search for bodies.
“This will be a slow and painstaking process which will require a large amount of shoring up work inside the building, especially on the upper floors, which will be the most challenging for us to access and search,” said Cotton.
In the meantime, lightweight sniffer dogs are being sent in to try and identify which floors have bodies on them.
While the death toll is expected to rise from the slow search of the residence, there are also 37 people still receiving care in hospital, including 17 that are in critical condition.
