Grenfell mother and son died in each other’s arms

A MOTHER and son who attempted to shelter inside a Grenfell Tower flat were found dead in each other’s arms, their family said yesterday.

Marjorie and Ernie Vital tried to escape by climbing to the top floor of the tower block and huddled together in the bathroom of an abandoned flat, but died before they could be reached.

Harrowing details of their deaths emerged amid warnings that some survivors from the tragedy last June were struggling to cope with the graphic evidence and accounts of grief heard at an inquiry in west London. Those who escaped the burning building have suffered panic attacks and even collapsed after seeing images of the fire and of people trapped inside.

Mrs Vital’s family said they took some comfort from knowing the 68-year- old seamstress died with her son Ernie, 50, despite the horrific circumstances.

Her surviving son, who asked not to be named, said: ‘We now have the evidence that their bodies were fused together in the intensity of the fire. It reminded me that as a child growing up, he [Ernie] was constantly in my mother’s arms. It symbolised to me the level of closeness that they had.’

Inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick appeared moved by the tribute and sat with his head bowed before thanking the Vital family for their ‘very powerful’ evidence.

The first two weeks of the independent inquiry have been dedicated to ‘commemorative evidence’ from grieving families of the 72 men, women and children who perished in the disaster.

One survivor told how he now prayed to die so he could be with his ‘hero’ father. Hamid Ali Jafari, 54, said his father Ali Yawar Jafari, 82, had died after trying to save his neighbours from the blaze.

He wept as he told the hearing yesterday: ‘I pray every day and even I request my friends to pray for me that I die soon to meet my father.’

The harrowing evidence of bereaved families has been heard at the start of the public inquiry at the request of the families.

Emma Kennedy, manager of the Grenfell Outreach Team, said some survivors and mourners had found it almost too hard to bear. ‘It’s very heavy emotionally – like being at a funeral for multiple people for six hours,’ she said.