LONDON INFERNO TOLL REACHES 30
LONDON: The deaths in the devastating Grenfell Tower blaze in London have risen to 30 and more than 70 persons remain unaccounted for.
The death toll in the horrific fire that engulfed a 24storey tower in west London rose to 30 on Friday amid fears that it could climb to over 100 in one of the worst fire tragedies in the country. Metropolitan police commander Stuart Cundy said, "We know that at least 30 people who have died. The bodies have been taken to a morgue, but more bodies remain in the building."
"We always knew that the death toll would increase," Cundy said, adding that there was nothing to suggest that the fire at the Grenfell Tower was started deliberately.
The investigation into the cause of the fire that has now been extinguished will take weeks, he added.
"Sadly we do not expect there to be any survivors," Cundy said.
While 30 people have been confirmed dead, there are fears the death toll could hit hundreds.
Asked about the number of dead, he said he hoped the death toll would not reach "triple figures" and indicated a criminal investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.
"We as the police, investigate criminal offences -- I am not sitting here and saying there are criminal offences that have been committed, that's why you do an investigation, to establish it," he said. Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by grandson Prince William, paid a visit to the Grenfell Tower this morning where the number of missing is estimated to be around 76.
They met volunteers, local residents and community representatives while visiting Westway Sports Centre in west London, near the burnt down 24storey Grenfell Tower.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has ordered a judge-led full public inquiry into the incident and is expected to pay a visit to the injured in one of the London hospitals after she faced criticism over her failure to meet the victims during a visit to the site on Thursday.
Newly-appointed Indianorigin housing minister in the Department for Communities and Local Government, Alok Sharma, said, "Every single family will be rehoused in the local area".
Local residents shouted angry questions when London mayor Sadiq Khan paid a visit to the area.
Friends and families of victims, including a furious seven-year-old, asked: "How many children died? What are you going to do about it?"
"The bad news, I'm afraid, is lots of people died in the fire. There are a lot of brave firefighters and police and ambulance workers. And once it's safe, they are going to go into the building,” he said, in an attempt to calm the crowds.
The local Grenfell Action Group had claimed, before and during a major 10-million-pound refurbishment of Grenfell Tower last year, that the block constituted a fire risk and residents had warned that access to the site for emergency vehicles was "severely restricted".
Emergency services are to spend a third day searching for bodies in the burnt-out Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, where they were called to reports of a fire in the early hours of Wednesday.
Their teams were forced to leave the 24-storey building yesterday afternoon when the fire restarted, delaying further the efforts to reach upper floors -- where many victims are thought to have been trapped.