Meghan’s Grenfell pal: My horror call to friend trapped in tower blaze
Heartbroken survivor’s tearful inquiry evidence
A GRENFELL Tower survivor who helped produce Meghan Markle’s cook book yesterday broke down as she gave heartbreaking evidence to the inquiry into the disaster.
Munira Mahmud wept as she recalled her final conversation with best friend Rania Ibrahim, who died on the 22nd floor along with her two daughters Fethia, four, and three-year-old Hania.
Munira is one of a number of residents who feature in the book, supported by the Duchess of Sussex in charity project Together, Our Community Cookbook.
The Mirror first revealed Meghan had been paying secret visits to survivors at the Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, near the West London tower.
The book was brought out to raise funds so the twice-weekly community gatherings could become more frequent. Munira, 34, described how she had spent the day of the fire with Rania, 31, and how the pair took turns every night to cook for each other.
Tearful Munira, who was comforted by her husband Mohamed Rasoul as she gave evidence, said she took food up to the 22nd floor for the family at 9.30pm, on June 14 last year. She recalled: “I never would have imagined this would be the last time I would see Rania.
“She was looking at me smiling, not knowing it would be the last smile I’m getting from her. We were just messing around like kids – not knowing I’m losing my ‘sister’ in the next few hours.” Munira escaped her fifth-floor flat with her two children, her husband and her elderly father-in-law, and eventually reached Rania by phone at about 3am – around two hours after the fire started.
She said: “She was trying to stay calm on the phone but I could tell she was petrified. I think she knew she wasn’t going to make it out alive.
“I kept repeating, ‘come down, Rania, come down’. I remember hearing her children in the background saying they wanted their daddy, and coughing...”
Rania had been told to stay put by the emergency services, the inquiry heard.
“She respected and trusted, and believed they were coming to rescue them,” Munira said, as she began to cry, “but they never came.”
The inquiry, based in Central London, continues.