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London tower inferno

Sunday, 18 June 2017 6:29 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 18 June 2017 6:29 AM ]

Flames and smoke coming from Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire broke out there on June 14, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

These are the headlines we are tracking for you in this episode of On the News Line:

London tower inferno

A state of panic hit western London just after Midnight on Wednesday. A huge fire had engulfed a block of flats when fire fighters arrived at the scene. They battled for hours before they managed to contain the blaze to some extent. But not much is now left of the over 40-year old residential bloc. The Grenfell Tower is a 24-storey building which was built in the mid seventies and was home to at least 400 people. As the fire consumed the Grenfell Tower, those residents who managed to get out in time watched their homes go up in smoke. Residents' groups say they had raised concerns about the building’s safety. Many of the residents complained that their fire alarms failed to work after the blaze erupted.

Republican targeted

The target was a group of republican lawmakers including senior congressman Stephen Scalise, the No. 3 Republican in the US House of Representatives and a close ally of Trump. Several people were killed but Scalise was severely injured and is being treated for injuries to internal organs, broken bones and severe bleeding after being shot. Media reports first described the gunman as a lone shooter and a disgruntled employee. But later revelations shed more light on what his motives for the shooting could have been.

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