Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 15 June 2017

Death toll rises to 12 in London apartment building inferno

By GREGORY KATZ May’s office said she was gested that terrorism was someone toss two children Nassima Boutrig, who lives
DANICA KIRKA “deeply saddened by the involved. out a window on the fifth across from the building,
Associated Press tragic loss of life” in the fire. “The flames, I have never or sixth floor. Tiago Etienne, said she was awakened by
LONDON (AP) — They “My thoughts are with the seen anything like it. It just 17, said he saw about three sirens and smoke so thick
banged on windows, victims, their families and reminded me of 9/11,” said children between the ages that it filled her home as
screamed for help, well.
dropped children from “We saw the people
smoky floors in a desperate screaming,” she said. “A lot
attempt to save them. Ter- of people said, ‘Help! Help!
rified residents of the Gren- Help!’ The fire brigade
fell Tower said there was could only help downstairs.
little warning of the inferno ... They couldn’t stop the
that engulfed their high- fire.”
rise apartment building Resident Hamid Wahbi
and left 12 people dead said that as he fled, he
— a toll that officials said asked about a neighbor’s
would almost certainly rise. father but was told he was
The blaze early Wednes- still inside.
day in the 24-story build- “We tried to go back, but
ing in west London’s North it was all black, so I had to
Kensington district also in- come out of the building,”
jured 74 others, 18 of them Wahbi added.
critically, and left an un- There was no immediate
known number missing. A word on the cause of the
tenants’ group had com- blaze, but the Grenfell Ac-
plained for years about the tion Group has been warn-
risk of a fire. ing about the risk of fire at
More than 200 firefight- Grenfell Tower since 2013.
ers worked through the A resident in a nearby building watches smoke rise from a building on fire in London, Wednesday, Edward Daffarn, who lived
night and were still finding June 14, 2017. A massive fire raced through the 27-story high-rise apartment building in west Lon- on the 16th floor, said the
don early Wednesday, sending at least 30 people to hospitals, emergency officials said.
pockets of fire inside later (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) building’s fire alarm didn’t
in the day. A huge plume ring. He said residents had
of smoke wafted across all of those who had their Muna Ali, 45. “The fire start- of 4 and 8 being dropped complained for years to
the London skyline and left homes destroyed,” she ed on the upper floors. ... from around the 15th floor. Kensington and Chelsea
a burned-out hulk in the said. Oh my goodness, it spread There was no word on their Council about the build-
working class, multi-ethnic “It’s impossible to com- so quickly. It had com- fate. ing’s safety, to no avail.
neighborhood. prehend the horror of pletely spread within half Other residents told har- “I’m lucky to be alive. A
“In my 29 years of being what they’ve been going an hour.” rowing tales of their own neighbor’s smoke alarm
a firefighter, I have never, through.” Samira Lamrani said she escapes and frustration went off and another
ever seen anything of this London Mayor Sadiq Khan saw a woman drop a baby at not being able to help neighbor phoned and told
scale,” Fire Commissioner said many questions must from a window on the ninth neighbors. me to get out,” Daffarn
Dany Cotton said. be answered about safe- or 10th floor to people on Ruks Mamudu, 69, said she said. “I consider this mass
Up to 600 people lived ty for the scores of other the sidewalk. ran to safety down one murder.”
in 120 apartments in the apartment blocks around “People were starting to flight of stairs to the ground The Action Group ex-
Grenfell Tower. After an- the British capital. appear at the windows, floor from her apartment pressed concern about the
nouncing the updated The London Fire Brigade frantically banging and wearing only her purple testing and maintenance
death toll of 12 in the af- said it received the first re- screaming,” Lamrani told pajamas and bathrobe. of firefighting equipment
ternoon, Cmdr. Stuart ports of the blaze at 12:54 Britain’s Press Association She and her grandson and blocked emergency
Cundy said that “we be- a.m. and the first engines news agency. sat outside the building, access to the site. In a Nov.
lieve this number will sadly arrived within six minutes. When the woman indicat- helplessly watching those 20 blog, the group pre-
increase.” Survivors told of frantic at- ed she was going to drop trapped on higher floors. dicted that only “a cata-
Crews rescued 65 people, tempts to escape during the infant, “a gentleman “I sat there watching my strophic event” leading to
said Steve Apter, the fire the nighttime fire. Some ran forward and managed house burn down and “serious loss of life” would
brigade’s director of safety initially feared it was ter- to grab the baby,” she watching people cry for bring the outside scrutiny
and assurance. rorism-related, although added. help who couldn’t come needed to make condi-
Prime Minister Theresa authorities have not sug- Joe Walsh, 58, said he saw down,” Mamudu said. tions safe for residents. q