INSIDE HELL Revealed: Haunting images that show inferno victims never stood a chance
AMID piles of shattered debris, a burnt-out sink, washing machine and oven bear mute witness to the Grenfell Tower tragedy. A scorched exercise bike can also be seen in this chilling image of a flat wrecked by the inferno. Wall tiles exploded, ceilings collapsed and furniture was incinerated as the 24-storey building went up in flames. A police chief said conditions inside ‘verged on the indescribable’ and the search for the bodies of the dead might take months.
Some may never be identified – or even found – because of the ferocity of the fire, which hit a terrifying 1,100 Fahrenheit. As police said the number of victims had risen to 58:
It was feared the death toll could yet hit triple figures;
Far-Left agitators plotted to exploit the fire with a ‘Day of Rage’;
Contractors and council chiefs face possible manslaughter charges;
Theresa May announced £5,500 initial payments for affected families.
The photograph of the fire-ravaged flatand other chilling images were
released by Scotland Yard last night. They were taken inside homes on lower floors of Grenfell Tower, from which investigators believe everyone escaped safely in the early hours of Wednesday.
Rescue teams face dangerous conditions inside the west London building although engineers say the structure is sound.
Commander Stuart Cundy, who is overseeing the operation, said there will be a fingertip search of every room. ‘The conditions due to the fire damage verge on indescribable, which is why this will be such a lengthy operation taking weeks to complete,’ he added.
‘We must also prepare people for the terrible reality that some people may not be identified due to the intensity of the fire.’
Officers suspect the tower housed more residents than were logged on council databases.
‘I must consider the fact that there may be others in the building who, for whatever reason, have not been reported to us,’ said Mr Cundy. ‘There is also a real possibility that there may be people in the building that no one knows are missing.
‘I want to hear from anyone who believes that they know someone who may have been living, staying or visiting but has not yet been reported missing to us.
‘We are not interested in your reasons for not telling us sooner, we just want to understand as best as we can who may still be inside the building.’
An MP yesterday demanded urgent police raids to seize vital evidence, claiming that firms were already erasing information from their websites about their involvement in fitting cut-price flammable cladding to the building.
Furious residents attacked the managers of the North Kensington estate for being ‘invisible’ after the tragedy.
Fifteen children from a single nursery are feared to have perished in the tragedy. Aged between six months and four years, they all attended Grenfell Creche Centre, which was based on the ground floor of the tower.
Nursery manager Shirley Sylvester said: ‘Lots of children who go here live in the block. We are not coping very well to be honest. They are our local families.’
Ish Murray, 35, whose sister works at the childcare centre, said: ‘Lots of the kids live in the block with their parents. My sister has told me that 15 are missing.’
Three children from a martial arts class are among the missing, with two other members in a coma in hospital. Donato Nardizzi, 56, taught taekwondo and ‘danger awareness’ to the children aged between five and 13.
He said the youngsters and their parents had been in high spirits at the nearby Kensington Leisure Centre before heading back to the tower. ‘They were all brilliant kids and we were like a second family,’ he told the Sun.
‘The taekwondo classes were a chance to teach the kids life skills too. This term we would have been teaching them about fire safety and what to do in a fire.’
Anger over the council’s handling of the Grenfell disaster mounted last night as traumatised families revealed they were being forced to make a 60-mile round trip by taxi to get essential donations.
Despite thousands of toiletries, clothes and nappies being piled high in a council car park, survivors said they were still having to fend for themselves.
Mouna El Ogbani, 42, who escaped the fire with her husband and three young children, said she had been placed 30 miles away in a hotel in Ascot, Berkshire, along with ten other families.
‘Conditions are indescribable’