Grenfell Tower fire: ‘I saw a woman throw her baby from the window’

Witnesses have described seeing people throw babies and children from windows to try and save them from the Grenfell Tower inferno.

Six people have so far been confirmed dead as the horror continues to unfold in front of those residents who were lucky enough to escape the 24-storey block in west London.

A baby was caught by a member of the public after being dropped from the ninth or 10th floor.

Samira Lamrani said: "The windows were slightly ajar, a woman was gesturing that she was about to throw her baby and if somebody could catch her baby.

"Somebody did, a gentleman ran forward and managed to grab the baby."

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She added: "My daughter’s friend said she observed an adult who made some sort of homemade parachute and tried to lower himself out of the window.

"The more I looked up, floor upon floor. Endless numbers of people.

"Mainly the kids, because obviously their voices, with their high pitched voices – that will remain with me for a long time.

"I could hear them screaming for their lives."

Another resident, called Zara, said she saw a woman throw her son, who was about five years old, from a fifth or sixth floor window.

She told LBC: "I think he might have just had some broken bones and bruises. It was like a scene from a Hollywood movie."

Witness Emma told Sky News: "A woman was quite high up, just above the middle, and she was screaming, ‘I’ve got a baby, please help me get out, I can’t get out, I’m trapped I need to save my baby.’

"It wasn’t pleasant to hear and it’s sad knowing you can’t really do anything about it because you can’t get up there to help."

She added: "I did see a few people jump. I think at that point you either jumped to try and save your life but break a few bones, or got engulfed in the flames.

"People were screaming and you could hear massive thuds. People were just desperately trying to save their lives. Neighbours were standing at the bottom willing to catch people."

Another witness described seeing a woman who was "hysterical".

"She said her friend jumped. The whole of his window was on fire," she added.

Residents’ association Grenfell Action Group said they had warned for several years of the "very poor fire safety standards" at the tower block.

"All our warnings fell on deaf ears and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time," they said.

Those forced to flee their homes described hearing their trapped neighbours’ screams.

Michael survived by chance. He wasn’t woken up by the "very, very quiet" fire alarm and was on the verge of falling asleep.

He got up to have a cigarette and discovered the fire by hearing a woman shout through an open window. Michael went out to the hallway and saw smoke.

"I’ve opened the door and the neighbours were there, people screaming.

"The fireman said ‘Get down the stairs’ so I grabbed the little girl, grabbed my girlfriend and ran out of the house just in a pair of boxers shorts and a dressing gown. Someone gave me these clothes.

"As we were coming down the stairs the smoke was disgusting – it’s all the plastic on the building that’s done it. I heard a lot of screams.

"After I got outside, I was looking up and I could see people banging on the windows, there was fire all around them – it was horrendous."

Mahad also rescued his partner and kids after hearing a "strange knock" on his front door.

As soon as he opened it and smoke started pouring in, he "slammed the door shut – didn’t even lock it, I just slammed it shut – because I didn’t want the kids to suffocate".

He woke his children up, handing them wet towels, and they escaped through the fire well.

Mahad told Sky News: "People on the left-hand side of the building were screaming out ‘Help us’, sticking their heads outside the window, people were waving phones for visibility, because there was so much smoke.

"We do know there’s people (still inside). We’ve received phone calls. We’ve got family and friends still in there. There’s someone trapped, a five-year-old, I wish her all the best.

"There’s still some families coming out. There’s more firefighters going in there with the oxygen tanks and first aid kits and all sorts of stuff."

Another resident, Turafat, described being trapped in her 17th floor flat with her husband and son, until a hero firefighter led them to safety.

"I tried to escape but the smoke was so heavy, so we thought just call 999 because I could not use the staircase.

"A fireman came and knocked on the door and all of us just had to follow them, my husband carrying my son and just me – it took us less than five minutes.

"I wasn’t aware the fire was so large until we came outside. The flames were from the fourth floor and it just went up 10 floors and it was really bad at the time."

A grandmother also living in the tower block revealed she only discovered the fire when she went to the toilet.

"I always open my windows and I heard some unusual noises outside," she said. "So I peeped. Then I saw a lot of fire engines, police everywhere. So I said to one of them, ‘Officer what’s going on?’, and he said ‘Fire – get out.’

"Then I quickly woke my grandson, gave him his dressing gown then we ran down stairs, and that’s where we are now."

(c) Sky News 2017: Grenfell Tower fire: ‘I saw a woman throw her baby from the window’