Grenfell Tower fire: Man breaks down in tears on live TV as he describes 'father throwing his children out of window'

Eyewitness describes 'really, really horrific' scene as police confirm six have died in blaze

A man broke down in tears on live TV as he described how a father threw his children out of the window in the Grenfell Tower blaze.

Mahad Egal, who lived in the 24-storey block, described the scenes as “really, really horrific”, and said residents “saw a lot” before breaking down in tears.

Mr Egal was comforted by BBC News presenter Victoria Derbyshire as he struggled to finish the heartbreaking interview.

“This was really, really horrific. There’s a man who threw two of his children. We saw a lot, we saw a lot man. We saw a lot with our own eyes, we saw friends, families…” he said.

Other eyewitnesses told of people jumping from the building and screaming for help.

“I watched one person falling out, I watched another woman holding her baby out the window... hearing screams, I was yelling everyone to get down and they were saying 'We can't leave our apartments, the smoke is too bad on the corridors',” one eyewitness said.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed six people had died in the blaze which engulfed the flats around 1am on Wednesday.

Seventy-four people were being treated in six hospitals across the capital, London Ambulance Service said, as 200 firefighters battled the flames that engulfed the west Kensington block. Twenty people remain in critical care.

A resident action group warned just months ago that the building posed a fire risk that "only a catastrophic event will expose".

The tower also had a “stay put” policy which advised residents to stay in their flats in the event of a fire.