One firefighter has died and three others are missing, presumed dead, following a massive warehouse fire in the Midlands.

See also: Fatal warehouse blaze photos

Emergency services today began scouring the fire-ravaged warehouse for their missing colleagues after parts of the roof collapsed.

The tragedy is one of the worst for the Fire Service since the Second World War.

Watch our video taken by chief photographer Gavin Dickson who flew over the scene in a helicopter today.

It is thought the firefighters may have gone inside the building believing there were people trapped inside.

More than 80 firefighters worked into the early hours battling the flames at a vegetable packing warehouse on an industrial estate in Atherstone on Stour, near Stratford upon Avon, in Warwickshire.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has paid tribute to the firefighters.

He said: “”My thoughts are with the families of those killed, missing and injured.

“I pay tribute to the courage, dedication and service of the firefighters. We stand ready to help in any way we can.”

One firefighter was taken to Warwick Hospital with critical injuries, but despite repeated attempts to resuscitate him he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

The county’s chief fire officer William Brown said today “we have grave concerns” for three missing firefighters. He also admitted that it had been the “worst day of his career”.

See the Express & Star for full coverage including photosOne firefighter has died and three others are missing, presumed dead, following a massive warehouse fire in the Midlands.

See also: Fatal warehouse blaze photos

Emergency services today began scouring the fire-ravaged warehouse for their missing colleagues after parts of the roof collapsed.

The tragedy is one of the worst for the Fire Service since the Second World War.

It is thought the firefighters may have gone inside the building believing there were people trapped inside.

More than 80 firefighters worked into the early hours battling the flames at a vegetable packing warehouse on an industrial estate in Atherstone on Stour, near Stratford upon Avon, in Warwickshire.

One firefighter was taken to Warwick Hospital with critical injuries, but despite repeated attempts to resuscitate him he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

The county’s chief fire officer William Brown said today “we have grave concerns” for three missing firefighters. He also admitted that it had been the “worst day of his career”. But he praised the crews, including many from Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire and the West Midlands, saying the firefighters had “acted heroically in what they did.”

Mr Brown said: “We are deeply shocked by this event in Warwickshire, this is a tragic event and our hearts and thoughts go out to those affected, families and colleagues both locally and nationally.

“One of our firefighters has died and three are still missing and we have grave concerns for them.

We are working closely with the police to find out how it started and how it had such a devastating effect.”

By Sarah Moran