Emergency service workers who battled the horror blaze in London‘s Grenfell Tower have reportedly been banned from discussing the real death toll with the media, as a criminal investigation into the fire continues.
The current official death toll is 80, but many more are missing and feared dead. The fire services are apparently certain that the final toll will continue to rise, with a Fire Brigades Union rep telling reporters:
“We know the death toll will be higher than the official figure – and we’re not talking about one or two higher. There’s a strong possibility we are talking about three figures.”
Nevertheless, the firies are being told that talking about their suspicions could get in the way of the ongoing investigation. One firefighter told The Sunday Mirror:
“We’ve been told by our management don’t speak, ideally. The coroner has said it could obstruct the investigation.“I don’t know how it can – what’s happened has happened, but that’s what we’re being told.”
Local authorities have refused to speculate on the number of dead until thorough investigations have been carried out, including identifying the deceased. But David Lammy, the Labour MP for Tottenham, has expressed the frustration felt by many in the community over the lack of clarity surrounding deaths from the fire.
“Firefighters confirm larger numbers than 80. Survivors are also suggesting numbers well in excess of 100. And yet 17 days after the fire we have no list of survivors, the police have said we will have to wait until the end of the year for numbers.“It’s causing huge anxiety for people who want closure as they wait for news of their loved-ones and it feeds deep mistrust amongst the victims and survivors themselves.“Trust is at rock bottom and the community need reassuring that the police, local authority and central government are doing all they can to at least come up with an estimation of how many people were in Grenfell Tower and how many survived.”
Source: 7 News.
Image: Carl Court / Getty.
