A WOMAN was trapped 17 storeys up in a tower block after an inferno erupted sending huge panes of glass smashing to the ground.
Smoke billowed across the capital and 60 people were evacuated after the fire at Relay Building in Whitechapel High Street yesterday.
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Footage of the blaze shows shards of glass and other debris falling to the ground from the 23-storey block.
Residents told The Sun a fire alarm didn’t sound in the block as the flames took hold.
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Amazingly, no one suffered serious injuries, although two people were taken to hospital.
London Fire Brigade revealed one resident was trapped 17 floors up as the flames erupted around her.
Brave firefighters managed to lead the woman to safety via an internal staircase.
Station Commander Chris Jenner, who was at the scene, said: “This was a dynamic and visible fire with our 999 Control Officers taking more than 50 calls in the early stages.
“A woman was trapped by the nature of the fire on the 17th floor.
“She was given fire survival advice by control officers until firefighters located her. Fire crews used a fire escape hood to help lead the woman to safety via the internal staircase.
“Around 60 people evacuated the building with others remaining in their unaffected flats.
“We mobilised a 64 metre turntable ladder to the scene. This is the tallest firefighting ladder in Europe and allowed us to get water onto the fire from outside the building.
“The professionalism, hard work and quick actions of control officers and firefighters limited the damage to the block and prevented serious injuries.”
‘NO ALARMS’
Offices take up the lower levels of the tower, with residential properties making up the higher storeys. The fire was on the 17th floor.
The London Fire Brigade bravely dashed into the inferno to rescue those trapped inside.
Around 125 firefighters were at the scene during the height of the incident.
At least 50 panicked members of the public called 999 after spotting the fire at the junction of Commercial Street and Whitechapel Road in Aldgate.
Eyewitnesses claimed that they could still see some people on balconies while the evacuation was in process.
Shocking video recorded from a building across the street shows smoking debris plunging to the ground.
A resident said he had to run from the building after his neighbour knocked on his door to tell him their block was on fire.
The man, who did not wish to be named, told The Sun: “There were no alarms going off so I had no idea.
“It wasn’t even going off in the corridor.
“We ran straight down the stairs and out onto the street, it was very scary.
TERRIFYING BLAZE
“The building has a problem with electric faults so there have been a few fires in the past but nothing this bad.
“I was on floor 11 and I know people on floor 18 who were evacuated too.
“I think everyone managed to get out in time, which is a relief.”
Another witness said she’d seen babies and mothers gathered on the street outside.
“I’m very shaky. I’m just worried about everyone who lives there,” she said.
“To not have any alarms in a building like that – all I can say is I live in a bungalow and I’m never leaving a bungalow.”
The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We sent a number of resources including two ambulance crews, a team leader in a fast response car, an incident response officer and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team, with the first of our medics arriving in four minutes.
“We took two patients to hospital, and treated a further two patients at the scene.”
Anyone working or living nearby has been urged to keep their windows closed against the smoke.
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