Battersea fire: Woman and child taken to hospital as firefighters tackle tower block fire in south west London

A woman and a child have been taken to hospital following a fire breaking out at a tower block in south-west London.

A further 50 people left the building as the blaze took hold in a flat on the twentieth floor of a high rise on Westbridge Road in Battersea, London Fire Brigade (LFB) said.

One woman had left the flat before firefighters arrived and was being assessed for smoke inhalation at the scene.

Flames could be seen from the top of the block as dark plumes of smoke drifted into the sky.

London Fire Brigade sent 70 firefighters to the scene after the blaze was reported at 8.02pm on Tuesday.

It had received 18 calls about the blaze.

Station commander Pete Johnson, who is at the scene, said: “Crews were faced with a lot of smoke issuing from the top of a block of flats on arrival.

Handout photo taken with permission from the twitter feed of @AkashDe69028264 showing a fire at a tower block on Westbridge Road in Battersea, south-west London.

“There was also lots of visible flame which has prompted a high number of calls to our control officers.

“There are a number of road closures in place.”

Fire crews from Battersea, Fulham, Wandsworth, North Kensington and surrounding fire stations are at the scene.

An LFB spokesman said the cause of the fire is not known at this stage but that it had been brought under control at 8.53pm.

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