London Fires: How Grenfell went from tragedy to shambles

The Grenfell fire has morphed from tragedy to utter shambles, with fury at the local council, UK government and the authorities, who have admitted they don’t know exactly who was in the building and may not be able to identify all of the dead.
Nadia is just one of many furious locals who believe the authorities or the media have deliberately downplayed the true number of deaths.
Singer Lily Allen, who lives in the area, told Channel 4 news the day after the devastating fire: “Seventeen? I’m sorry but I am hearing the figure is much closer to 150 and that many of those people are children.”
And indeed, the death toll has been steadily rising from that initial figure — to 30, then 58, and then on Monday to 79, with police confirming that five people had been formally identified, and 74 were missing, presumed dead. Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy warned the number may still increase.
The same afternoon, a London resident sensationally claimed that 42 bodies had been found in just one incinerated room in the building. But authorities discredited the claim, with a London Fire Brigade spokesperson telling news.com.au “that doesn’t sound right to me” and Met Police commenting, “It’s nothing we’ve been made aware of.”

Police have said from the beginning that the final death toll was likely to be significantly higher than that first reported, and emergency services have faced a battle to find and identify the dead in the charred building. Locals continue to search for missing loved ones on social media and through posters taped to bus stops and lampposts — but most fear the worst.
With a high immigrant population in the tower, some may not even have been reported missing. Mr Cundy said last week that because of the ferocity of the blaze, there was “a risk that sadly we may not be able to identify everybody”. Five people reported missing after the disaster had been found safe and well, he said.
Police released horrific images of the scorched interior this week, with entire walls burnt away to nothing and charred remains of people’s furniture and possessions littering the ground.
Meanwhile, there is growing anger at tourists snapping “disaster selfies” in front of the charred apartment block where so many died. Mourners and nearby residents erected signs outside begging passers-by to “stop taking selfies” and “stop taking pictures please”.

Credit: Daily Telegragh