According to the latest updates provided by the Metropolitan police, 58 people are now missing and presumed dead, following the fire earlier this week. Police Service Commander Stuart Cundy have urged anyone who may have escaped from the building but has not yet come forward to reach out so they can properly account those who are really missing.
Search for dead bodies continues
In the latest update of Grenfell Tower fire, 58 people believed to be in the tower at the time of the fire are still missing and unaccounted. According to Commander Stuart Cundy, the said figure is not yet final and possibly to increase in the nex few days.
In search of the dead bodies in the building, rescuers have already recovered 16 bodies. The first victim of the 16 bodies has been identified as Mohammed Alhajali, who is a resident in Grenfell Tower. Mohammed and his family moved to London in 2014 because of the ongoing war in their home in Daraa, Syria.
In addition to those reported dead, the fire injured at least 74 people. As of Saturday afternoon, 19 remained to be in the hospital, and 10 currently receiving critical care. In an interview with ABC News, Cundy has said that the ongoing operation to identify and recover all victims is a complicated process, and some of the bodies that have been found may never be identified. He said, "The state inside burnt Grenfell Tower means that the recovery operation to find and identify the victims are extremely challenging." Cundy claimed that the recovery operation will take some time and will take a month or two.
Rising anger from the survivors
A crowd of furious protesters has gathered outside Kensington Town Hall last Friday. Thousands of protesters have paraded down to Downing Street in furious at the Government’s response to the disaster.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan of handling the disaster from the Grenfell Tower fire including the support that the survivors will receive has gone public.
The prime minister has been heavily criticized after she visited the site but failed to meet the victims.
The prime minister eventually visited the victims last Friday at a church near the building, but was welcomed by furious residents shouting ‘coward’ and ‘murderer.’ After meeting with survivors, the prime minister announced a 5 million pound ($6.4 million) fund to help the victims. The fund includes a guarantee to rebuild homes to Grenfell Tower residents as close as possible to their old homes.
