Service dogs have joined the grim search for bodies in Grenfell Tower as police confirmed at least 58 people are missing presumed dead.
Speaking to media outside the west London building today, Metropolitan Police commander Stuart Cundy said: "The fire was truly horrific. For me this is just a human tragedy."
He said that the force has confirmed 30 people are dead and has established that another 28 are missing. He added that he has to 'assume' these people had died, the Daily Mail reports.
A rescue dog is brought to Grenfell Tower in west London after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building. Photo / AP
The commander stressed that this information was based only on the number of people they believe were in the tower when it caught fire in the early hours of Wednesday morning and the actual loss may be greater.
Officers were forced to pause the "phased" search amid safety fears, but the operation has now been resumed and police say the priority is to "bring out those who are still in there".
Commander Cundy said police had received more than 6,000 calls and that the search is set to take weeks or "longer".
"It's important for families that we do absolutely everything in there to find their loved ones. We have gone to the top of the tower," he added.
London Fire Brigade's canine units were sent into the building yesterday along with the MET's urban search and rescue dogs.
Detectives and fire fighters have now surveyed every floor of the tower to assess its structural integrity.
The blaze, thought to have been started by a faulty fridge, quickly engulfed the building where some 600 people lived.
As fire crews continue their grim search for victims, boxer and former unified light-welterweight world champion Amir Khan met with residents close to Grenfell Tower.
People look at flowers and messages left near Grenfell Tower in London. Photo / AP
Mr Kahn, who travelled down from Bolton, told Sky News: "It's just very sad to come here.
"I went to the local mosque and question what people need and [ask] how the Amir Kahn Foundation can help these people.
"Obviously they don't need food, the don't need water, they don't need clothing. What they need is financial support - they need money.
"The community has stuck together. Everyone has come together to show their support and help."
Firefighters have said they believe no one on the top floors of the building survived.
Kitted out in hi-vis harnesses, sniffer dogs will painstakingly cover upper floors of the building.
For added protection the dogs wear buster boots, which protect their paws from broken glass and chippings that litter the floor of the gutted building.
Trainers insist that the dogs' keen sense of smell is more accurate than technology.
They are also much lighter than humans and can cover a large area quickly, reducing the amount of time other emergency services need to spend in the building.
The remains of Grenfell Tower stand in London. Photo / AP
London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said: "This is a large building, there will be a large amount of building work required internally.
"Before we do that, we are going to utilise some specialist dog training teams that we have, that will go through the building and the surrounding area looking for any identification of people."
The canines can smell through solid materials, like concrete, and their sense is estimated to be 10 times stronger than a human.
Spaniels have particularly sensitive noses and are often used by the fire brigade and police in body searches.
Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy speaks to the media near Grenfell Tower after a fire engulfed the 24-storey building, in London. Photo / AP
As the searches of the public housing complex continue with sniffer dogs and drones, Metropolitan Police commander Stuart Cundy said there was "a risk that, sadly, we may not be able to identify everybody."
The fate of the 600 residents of Grenfell Tower was sealed shortly before 12.50am, when a fridge on the fourth floor apparently exploded into flames.
At 12.54am, the fire brigade was called, and the first engines arrived within six minutes. But witnesses said that the speed at which the fire tore up the tower was incredible - like "a tissue being set alight".
Chaos and confusion swept through the tower block as its residents were woken up by sirens, screams and the smell of acrid smoke.
Many were told to stay in their flats and await rescue but within minutes, it became clear that that advice was beginning to cost lives.
Posters of people missing are stuck to a telephone box near Grenfell Tower in London. Photo / AP
Witnesses watched helplessly as people trapped in smoke-filled flats took it in turns to suck breaths of air through windows designed to open only fractionally.
Trapped residents flashed torches, their mobile phones and even fairy lights from their windows in a desperate attempt to attract the attention of rescuers.
One witness said: "People were taking in turns to get air from the window, and flashing their phones, and then the fire just took them. You could hear people yelling from the top, 'Help, get my children out!' and you are just standing there, and watching people die, burning..."
Cheap plastic cladding on Grenfell Tower is believed to have carried the flames so quickly.
Planning documents suggest fire-resistant cladding was initially chosen, but later ditched to save just £6,250 (NZ$11,036).
Yesterday, MailOnline revealed that the bosses of the company that installed Grenfell Tower's allegedly deadly cladding were accused by HMRC of pumping £2.5million (NZ$4.4m) into tax avoidance schemes.
