Detectives investigating the fire at Grenfell Tower have released harrowing images and footage from inside the building showing the devastation wrought by the blaze.
The pictures are of rooms where police say all the people living there have been accounted for. They were released as Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said police believe the number of people missing, but as yet unaccounted for, has risen above yesterday’s figure of 58.
Pictures of burnt a washing machine, cooker, bathtub, exercise bike and many other household items in hollowed out rooms underline the “the scale of the challenge” the police face in recovering loved ones, police said.
Commander Stuart Cundy added the “forensic search” may take weeks to complete as a result of the “indescribable” damage caused.
Commander Stuart Cundy said:
“It is really important that we are clear about the scale of the challenge facing us as our teams search Grenfell Tower to recover those people still inside and return them to their loved ones.
“It is really important that we are clear about the scale of the challenge facing us as our teams search Grenfell Tower to recover those people still inside and return them to their loved ones.
“Whilst our teams have been from the bottom to the top of the tower, we must now carry out a full forensic and systematic search. The conditions due to the fire damage verge on indescribable, which is why this will be such a lengthy operation taking weeks to complete.
“We must also prepare people for the terrible reality that some people may not be identified due to the intensity of the fire.”
Meanwhile, Kensington and Chelsea council has been sidelined in leading the response to the Grenfell Tower fire amid criticism it was failing the survivors of the disaster.
It was announced the new Grenfell Fire Response Team - a coalition of central government, the British Red Cross, the Metropolitan police, London-wide local and regional government and the London Fire Brigade - will lead the relief work after the initial response “was simply not good enough on the ground”.
It follows residents whose homes were destroyed in the fire being told they will receive a Government down-payment of at least £5,500 from Monday.
The money comes from the £5 million government emergency fund previously announced, and support workers will help those who need it access it.
No 10 said the £500 cash payment is already being handed out and further payments will be available tomorrow from the Westway Centre and the nearby post office in Portobello Road.