London tower blaze: Final death toll may only be known next year, says London police
It will be months until the final death toll from a London tower block blaze is known, British police said on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Theresa May revealed that 120 other high-rise buildings also had exterior cladding that failed fire tests.
At least 80 people are dead, or missing and presumed dead, from the inferno that gutted the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block in west London on June 14 as families and children slept, and that figure is expected to rise.
Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack, the officer in charge of the police investigation, said the final death toll would only be known after officers completed a painstaking search and recovery operation which would take until the end of the year to complete.
“We are many months from being able to provide a number that we believe accurately represents the total loss of life inside Grenfell Tower,” McCormack said.
The authorities have been under pressure to say exactly how many people lost their lives amid accusations from local residents that the true figure is being kept quiet.
The blaze in a social housing block close to one of Britain’s richest neighbourhoods has become a lightning rod for anger at May’s government with opponents blaming public spending cuts …read more