- Fire crews from around east London raced to blaze in Mile End tower block at around 12.30pm this afternoon
- Blaze tore through flat on the 12th floor of the 21-storey housing block as residents looked on helpless
- More than 80 calls were made to emergency services amid heightened alert after the Grenfell Tower blaze
At least 35 firefighters are tackling a blaze on the 12th floor of a tower block in east London.
Smoke billowed into the sky after the fire broke out in a flat in one of two 21-storey housing blocks in Mile End.
Six fire engines were called in from the around the area after flames were seen leaping up the side of the building and smoke was visible from around London.
It emerged more than 80 people had called 999 over the fire. The capital is on a heightened sense of alert about fires in tower blocks as shocking details emerge of the Grenfell Tower fire at the ongoing inquiry.
Flames were seen leaping up the side of the building in Mile End, east London today
Residents from around the area looked on as the flames sent smoke pouring into the sky
Fire crews managed to get a firefighter on a high ladder up to the window to damp it down
The housing block is in Mile End, not far from the capital’s financial district in the City
A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: ‘Six fire engines and 35 firefighters and officers have been called to a flat fire in Wellington Way, Mile End. Half of a flat on the 12th floor is alight.
‘The Brigade’s 999 Control Officers have taken more than 80 calls to the fire.
‘The Brigade was called at 12:28. Fire crews from Bethnal Green, Shadwell, Stratford, Whitechapel and surrounding fire stations are at the scene. The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.’
The block was approved in 1962 and contains 99 flats over 19 floors. The 56m-high highrise is situated near the Devons Road DLR station, the tower block is some 55.78m high.
The block was completed in 1964 by contractors J&M Hill, who also built the adjacent Sleaford House.
A community hall is situated on the ground floor of the flat block, outside which residents could be seen gathering after leaving their homes this afternoon.
The blaze comes at a time when Londoners are hearing shocking details of the Grenfell Tower fire at the inquiry into the disaster which claimed 82 lives just over a year ago.
Firefighters in the north of England are also working flat out to deal with wildfires on Saddleworth Moor, which has been reignited and aided by the hot, dry weather.
The block is one of two high-rise blocks on Wellington Way in the east London district
The smoke was visible from around London after the blaze broke out shortly before 12.30pm
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