Portuguese musician escapes London fire - at least 12 confirmed dead, so far

A Portuguese musician who lived in the London tower block that caught fire last night, June 13th, is thankful to be alive, but lost all his possessions: ""We lost everything, everyone lost their belongings, lives were lost, many lives, especially on the upper floors," said Francisco Ramos, a 20-year-old from Madeira.

Ramos is studying at the Royal Academy of Music and comes from Funchal. He lived on the 13th floor of Grenfell Tower in Latimer Road, west London, where he shared an apartment with another Portuguese national.

The musician was working in a hotel to help fund his studies when he heard about the fire that had engulfed the tower:  “I have more compassion for people who lost their lives. I lost all my possessions, but there were those who lost their life. It is inexplicable."

Dora Ramos, Francisco’s mother, on hearing the news, said, "Francisco says that everything is okay with him, but he lost everything he had. He was at work when he heard, he could not do anything. He has been in London since last October, he went to study music. It was by God’s grace that he was not in the building."

At least 12 people have died and 79 are injured, 18 of them seriously, in a fire that has the authorities keen to find out whether a recent refurbishment left the building in an unsafe state. Two Portuguese children, girls aged 11 and 13, are among the seriously injured and other Portuguese nationals are said to have been living in the doomed tower.

Francisco said that the building was "fantastic" and had just been renovated. Unlike other testimonials, he said he had never seen building materials in there that could be flammable but said the new cladding “was a little dubious."

Another Portuguese man, Miguel Alves, who also lived on the 13th floor with his wife and children of 18 and 20, came home late and managed to lead his family to safety before the fire has spread.

Alves has been in London for 19 years and was one of many who has told the local council that the recent refurbishment of the tower block involved flammable cladding on the building’s exterior.

The blaze ripped through the 24-storey tower, trapping residents inside as 200 firefighters tackled the blaze.

The fire gutted the building, with flames starting on the second floor which soon leapt to the top of the building.

Witnesses reported hearing screams from people inside. Police have said people are being treated for "a range of injuries."

According to witnesses, the fire appeared to take hold of a corner of the building before engulfing the entire structure. The building, in Latymer Road, North Kensington, was constructed in 1974 and latterly has been run by the Kensingston and Chelsea Tenants Management Organisation. There were 120 apartments with about 500 residents.

Prime Minister Theresa May has said she is "deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life."

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn described the blaze as the "worst nightmare anyone could think of."

London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said the first fire engine was at the tower block within six minutes and describes the London Fire Brigade as the "best fire service in the world."

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