Dramatic pictures of London's massive highrise fire

200 firefighters battle blaze at 24-storey building in U.K. capital

Dozens of firefighters remain on the scene Wednesday of a massive fire that swept through a highrise apartment building in west London, England.

Image | london fire smoke day

Caption: (Toby Melville/Reuters)

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Caption: (Victoria Jones/PA/Associated Press)

Battling the blaze

At least 30 people are confirmed dead and 74 were taken to hospital as 200 firefighters battled the blaze at the 24-storey building in the U.K. capital.

Image | london fire ground

Caption: (Neil Hall/Reuters)

Image | london fire police forensics

Caption: (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Smoke stretched for kilometres

Flames could be seen shooting from windows in the Grenfell Tower in North Kensington and plumes of smoke stretched for kilometres over the capital.

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Caption: The exterior cladding used to retrofit London's Grenfell Tower has come under scrutiny for the role it may have played in propagating the deadly fire. (Toby Melville/Reuters)

Image | AFP_PJ7PZ

Caption: (Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)

An unprecedented incident

"This is an unprecedented incident," Dany Cotton, commissioner of the London fire department, told reporters. "In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never, ever seen anything of this scale."

Image | firefighters jets of water

Caption: (Toby Melville/Reuters)

Cotton couldn't confirm the total number of deaths because of the size and complexity of the building.

Image | Britain London Fire

Caption: (Rick Findler/Associated Press)

Cotton told a news conference that some firefighters sustained minor injuries and the fire brigade will likely be on the scene for 24 hours.

Image | london fire

Caption: (Neil Hall/Reuters)

Protective face masks were provided to people near Grenfell Tower.

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Caption: (Carl Court/Getty Images)

Image | Britain London Fire

Caption: (Matt Dunham/Associated Press)

Ambulances and fire trucks filled the streets around the building located in a diverse, working-class area of London. Nearby residents, some carrying pets, were also forced out of their homes. Others searched for information at makeshift evacuation centres set up at churches and recreation centres.

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Caption: (Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images)

Image | missing persons london fire

Caption: (Carl Court/Getty Images)

A wall of tributes and messages of condolences for the victims sits on the side of a community centre near to the site of the Grenfell Tower.