London fire eyewitness breaks down in tears as he relives horror of Grenfell tower block blaze

THIS is the heartbreaking moment a traumatised eyewitness broke down on TV as he revealed the horror of the Grenfell tower block fire.

Mahad Egal wept as he revealed how desperate families trapped inside threw their children out of windows as flames ripped through the building.

9

9

9

9

9

He managed to escape from his forth floor flat with his family - including his two small children - as the blaze took hold.

Mahad was comforted by BBC presenter Victoria Derbyshire as the horrors from the inferno emerged.

He said: "So many people were left; we had so many relatives and families who were still trapped in, calling and saying please let the fire services know that we are still here.

9

9

"There was a kid that called and said that he's trapped in his room. It is a very terrible situation and I can confirm that lives have been lost. There has been fatalities of some of our friends, families, loved ones and neighbours.

"There were people jumping out of the place, a man who threw two of his children out."

Six people have died with the death toll expected to rise after the blaze tore through the west London tower block in the early hours of the morning.

A further 74 people are being treated in hospitals across London while 200 firefighters are on the scene.

MOST READ IN NEWS

FULL PONTE

Sweet shop dealers & drug farms… inside the battle to save UK's 'Ponte Carlo'

FIND HER

Teenager missing for two weeks as cops grow 'increasingly concerned'

OPERATION TYRANT

Body doubles & decoy choppers… how DID Putin sneak Assad out of Syria?

'UNBEARABLE LOSS'

Woman, 72, killed after being hit by car as family pay emotional tribute

Mahad said: "The fire started on the fourth floor, my neighbour told me it was his fridge that exploded.

"We were one of the first 10 families who got out no later then 1.10am and at this point the fire was no higher than an average tree.

"At first it seemed it was controllable, but really quickly the fire started to rise as the cladding caught fire.

"Initially we thought it would be fine and the firefighters would be able to put the fire out. But there was a sense of hesitation from the firefighters; they didn't start putting out the fire with water until 3am."

9

9

Desperate residents jumped from windows in scenes ";reminiscent of 9/11" as they tried to escape the flames.

Those trapped in the building could be heard begging for their lives as they waved towels and torches to attract the attention of 200 firefighters who worked through the night.

The building's new cladding completed during a recent £10 million refurbishment reportedly "went up like a match".

One witness said he saw a "child on fire" jump from the 22nd floor of the tower block.

What we know so far:

• The Metropolitan Police have confirmed six people have died but the death toll is expected to rise after a huge fire engulfed Grenfell Tower in West London just before 1am last night.
• The 24 storey high tower block has 120 apartments.
• Around 74 people have been taken to six hospitals in the capital with 20 in a critical condition.
• A resident said the fire started on the fourth floor.
• Residents are still trapped inside the building but there is no fear of the block collapsing.
• The area around the tower has been closed off and around 200 firefighters are at the scene.
• Authorities say the cause of the fire is still not known.
• Residents have been seen jumping from upper floors in scenes reminiscent of September 11.
• Burning debris has been seen falling from the building.
• London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan has declared the blaze a “major incident”.
• One witness told Sky they believed the fire was started by a faulty fridge.