LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — More than 125 firefighters Monday battled a blaze at a tower block housing apartments and offices near the City of London, as burning debris fell to the ground.
Police evacuated the high-rise building, after the fire erupted on its 17th floor and sent thick smoke into the sky.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said 20 fire trucks and more than 125 firefighters were trying to douse the flames in the Aldgate district.
Surrounding roads were cordoned off, and Khan urged the public to avoid the area as debris fell. There was no immediate word on any casualties, or the cause of the blaze.
In June 2017, a fire at the residential block of Grenfell Tower in west London killed 72 people. It was blamed on highly combustible cladding on the 24-storey block’s outside walls.
In January, the government said it would make developers contribute more to the cost of removing such cladding from all buildings in Britain, as a public inquiry continues into the Grenfell disaster.
© Agence France-Presse