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14th Jun 2017

Six people confirmed dead in Grenfell Tower fire with figure expected to rise

Metropolitan Police confirmed the fatalities in a statement

Rich Cooper

Metropolitan Police have confirmed that six people have died in the Grenfell Tower fire.

A statement released by the Met said: “We can confirm six fatalities at this time following the fire in North Kensington in the early hours of this morning, Wednesday, 14 June.

“These are very early stages and we do expect that figure to rise.

“Our thoughts are with everyone involved in this truly shocking fire at Grenfell Tower.”

In the statement, Commander Stuart Cundy said: “I can confirm six fatalities at this time but this figure is likely to rise during what will be a complex recovery operation over a number of days. Many others are receiving medical care.

“If you do have any concerns for anybody connected to this awful event, please call the Casualty Bureau on 0800 0961 233. If you do not get through immediately, please try again. If you have any concerns, please use that number rather than dialling 999 or 101.”

Residents had warned that the tower was becoming a “death trap” as early as 2012.

The Grenfell Action Group had posted a number of blogs detailing their concerns, including out of date fire extinguishers, landlords ignoring the health and safety of residents and lack of fire exits during renovation works.