Thursday, 15 June 2017

London Towering Inferno: Taxi Driver Responsible Unveiled (Photos)

This is the mini-cab driver whose faulty fridge is alleged to have started the Grenfell Tower inferno.

Behailu Kebede, a father of one, raised the alarm after flames took hold in his flat at number 16 on the fourth floor.

Maryann Adam, 41, who lived at number 14, told how Mr Kebede banged on her front door in the early hours of Wednesday to tell her that there was a fire in his kitchen.

She said: 'He knocked on the door, and he said there was a fire in his flat. It was exactly 12.50am because I was sleeping and it woke me up.

'The fire was small in the kitchen. I could see it because the flat door was open. There was no alarm.'

Mr Kebede friend Eshete Meried said the 44-year-old taxi driver originally from Ethiopia, escaped the building - but was still in shock.








Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Mr Meried said: 'Behailu did raise the alarm, that is what I am hearing.

'He is fine but he is not in a position to talk about anything right now. I understand that he in a temporary shelter, staying with friends.'

Maryam left her phone with her belongings in her flat and has been unable to check on other residents.

She later attended the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital after feeling dizzy, but was given the all-clear.

Dozens of residents at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, West London, are feared dead — just a year after a £10million refurbishment of the block that developers said was safe.

Chaos and confusion hit the block as the fire began in Mr Kebede's and quickly took hold. It reached the top floor of the 27-story block within just 15 minutes.

Witnesses watched helplessly as people trapped in smoke-filled flats took it in turns to suck breaths of air through windows designed to open only fractionally.

Trapped residents flashed torches, their mobile phones and even fairy lights from their windows in a desperate attempt to attract the attention of rescuers.

One witness said: 'People were taking it in turns to get air from the window, and flashing their phones, and then the fire just took them. You could hear people yelling from the top, 'Help, get my children out!' and you are just standing there, and watching people die, burning…'

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