Grenfell Inquiry tributes to tragic trio

A wife who died seven months after the Grenfell Tower fire and an opera worker who always had a smile on her face are the latest victims to be commemorated at the Grenfell Inquiry.

Tributes were paid to 74-yearold Maria del Pilar Burton, widely considered to be the 72nd victim of the June 14, 2017, blaze, and Deborah Lamprell, 45, who died in the fire.

Also remembered was Rania Ibrahim, 31, who live-streamed her final moments from the top floor where she was trapped with her young daughters.

Mrs Burton’s health deteriorated badly following the blaze, her husband of 34 years, Nicholas Burton, said.

Also known as Pily, she was diagnosed with dementia in 2015 and suffered great distress after her home was incinerated on June 14 last year.

Mr Burton remembered his wife with warmth and humour on the second day of the inquiry, but said the fire had changed everything.

He told the hearing at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in South Kensington: “The trauma had a terrible effect on Pily’s dementia. She was very distressed.”

Mr Burton too was forced to undergo life-saving surgery in the wake of the fire due to an enlarged heart. His wife’s condition had worsened by the time he emerged and she suffered a stroke in January. She died on January 29.

Opera worker Ms Lamprell, known as Debbie, was described by her mother Miriam as a “happy and fulfilled” woman who loved being around people.

The sister of Ms Ibrahim, Rasha Ibrahim, told the hearing of her desperation to understand why her sister and her daughters, Hania Hassan, 3, and Fethia Hassan, 4, had died.

Following the fire came a “cruel time of false hope and months of uncertainty before Ms Ibrahim and her children were identified.

Maria del Pilar Burton.