Desperate Grenfell victims begged to be rescued by copter
GRENFELL Tower victims mistakenly believed they could be rescued from the blaze by a police helicopter, a report revealed yesterday.
People stuck on the upper floors of the west London tower block begged call handlers for an air rescue after seeing police helicopters flying nearby during the fire.
But unknown to them, the helicopters sent by the National Police Air Service were not equipped for rescue, but were monitoring the scene for emergency responders.
Complained
The Independent Office for Police Conduct ( IOPC) has now said the way some handlers managed calls from those in the building was “unclear” but says residents were not told to move to another floor for rescue.
Nabil Choucair, who lost six relatives in the blaze, complained to the watchdog three years ago, saying that residents made their way up the block believing they would be saved.
The report details some of the calls made from the tower on the night of the fire which cost 72 people their lives.
Shortly after 3am on June 14, 2017, Nabil’s brother- inlaw Bassem was recorded in a 999 call asking: “Helicopter please, we are dying, dying!” He told the handler “We can’t leave” and “There are 20 people in the flat”.
The operator responded: “We can’t rescue you with a helicopter. If you can’t stay in the flat any more you’re going to have to leave the flat and make your way out of the building”.
A female caller in the same flat called seven minutes later and said: “I can see the helicopter, can we escape to the helicopter please.”
Shortly before the call was cut off, she said: “If you send helicopter we can escape.”
The operator responded: “All right, we’ll pass that over to them and let them know where you are, OK?”
Mr Choucair, 40, died in the flat, number 193, alongside 10 other victims.
The investigation said: “A small number of people in Grenfell Tower, who were already of the belief that they were completely trapped, out of desperation and being aware of helicopter presence, developed the mistaken belief that a helicopter rescue was a possibility.”
The body also concluded that “none of the helicopters flew close enough to the tower for their rotor wash to have worsened the fire”.
As a result of the investigation, all emergency service call handlers must now tell callers that mention a helicopter rescue during an incident where NPAS craft are deployed that they cannot be used to help.
Sal Naseem, IOPC regional director, said: “We offer and extend our deepest sympathies to Mr Choucair, all those who lost loved ones and the survivors whose lives have been changed forever.”
He added: “The recommendations we have made and which have been accepted aim to ensure that call operators communicate to people who find themselves in similar horrific situations, the reality of the choices they have.”