Grenfell Tower: The 21st Floor

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0:00:03 > 0:00:10This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting

0:00:10 > 0:00:14It was lovely. I loved living there.

0:00:14 > 0:00:16Everyone was nice.

0:00:16 > 0:00:19It was our house. It was our home.

0:00:21 > 0:00:25It was a very special building, Grenfell Tower. Very special.

0:00:26 > 0:00:30They were trying to say that it was a very poor tower,

0:00:30 > 0:00:34a broken tower, if you like, but it was far from that.

0:00:40 > 0:00:43It's a community where everyone knows each other.

0:00:53 > 0:00:57My room is on fire, just like that.

0:00:57 > 0:01:01All my curtains were on fire, my Moses basket was on fire.

0:01:01 > 0:01:03All that side of the window was all on fire.

0:01:06 > 0:01:08So, we were just trying to run.

0:01:08 > 0:01:10We were just... You know, just scurrying, just keep on going,

0:01:10 > 0:01:13just keep on going.

0:01:13 > 0:01:16Thick air going into you is really strong, so everyone...

0:01:16 > 0:01:19I can hear everyone, like, trying to find air.

0:01:23 > 0:01:26I just can't believe that they're gone.

0:01:26 > 0:01:27They're just gone, just like that.

0:01:40 > 0:01:43So many stories have emerged from Grenfell,

0:01:43 > 0:01:47but this is the story of one of the top floors, the 21st.

0:01:49 > 0:01:5215 people living as close neighbours

0:01:52 > 0:01:55in six flats around a central hallway.

0:01:55 > 0:01:57Amongst them, an NHS porter,

0:01:57 > 0:01:59a management consultant,

0:01:59 > 0:02:00a pensioner,

0:02:00 > 0:02:04an IT manager and a beautician.

0:02:04 > 0:02:06You'd meet all sorts of different people.

0:02:06 > 0:02:09You've got English friends, Irish friends...

0:02:09 > 0:02:14Erm, Arabic friends, Muslim backgrounds and Portuguese.

0:02:14 > 0:02:18We have a few families Portuguese there. Spanish, Italians, erm...

0:02:18 > 0:02:21Yeah, diversity in the tower was really good.

0:02:21 > 0:02:23And you get to see all these different cultures.

0:02:23 > 0:02:25It's been painted as a very...

0:02:25 > 0:02:29A very kind of poverty-stricken building,

0:02:29 > 0:02:33and maybe parts of it were,

0:02:33 > 0:02:35but that's certainly not the impression that we had

0:02:35 > 0:02:37when viewing it.

0:02:37 > 0:02:39The flat itself, it was just beautiful.

0:02:39 > 0:02:41The landlord had done it up very nicely.

0:02:41 > 0:02:43It was very tasteful, very modern.

0:02:43 > 0:02:45And because it was quite high up, on the 21st floor,

0:02:45 > 0:02:48- it had amazing views all around it. - Really nice views.

0:02:48 > 0:02:50It's my home.

0:02:50 > 0:02:54I know a lot of people there, my neighbours, you know?

0:02:54 > 0:02:55And everyone there, you know...

0:02:55 > 0:02:58When you live somewhere 20 years, it's your home, you know?

0:03:01 > 0:03:05Helen Gebremeskel runs a beauty salon in West London.

0:03:05 > 0:03:06Originally from Eritrea,

0:03:06 > 0:03:09though she'd lived in the tower for 20 years,

0:03:09 > 0:03:12for the past three, Helen and her daughter Lulya rented

0:03:12 > 0:03:15the two-bedroom council flat, number 186,

0:03:15 > 0:03:17on the 21st floor.

0:03:17 > 0:03:20My house was amazing.

0:03:20 > 0:03:23I did everything in the house. Everything.

0:03:25 > 0:03:28The floor, the painting,

0:03:28 > 0:03:30new furniture.

0:03:30 > 0:03:34We had a purple carpet and purple pillows,

0:03:34 > 0:03:38but the house was all white, so that was the only thing that stood out.

0:03:38 > 0:03:41All the neighbours around us - it's a six-flat -

0:03:41 > 0:03:45people are nice. People are really nice and we get along very well.

0:03:47 > 0:03:50But on June 14th, around 1am,

0:03:50 > 0:03:53the fire started on the fourth floor of tower.

0:03:53 > 0:03:56- Listen to him! Listen to him! - Get out!

0:03:56 > 0:03:59Within minutes, it rapidly spread.

0:03:59 > 0:04:02When I woke up, I was just looking around and I can smell smoke,

0:04:02 > 0:04:05you know? And I was going to myself, "Well, what is going on?"

0:04:10 > 0:04:15In the window, there was a fire. I saw the fire coming, so I just run.

0:04:15 > 0:04:17She grabbed me and she told me to get the dog,

0:04:17 > 0:04:19so I got the dog and ran out.

0:04:19 > 0:04:21We tried to take the stairs.

0:04:21 > 0:04:24I went to the corridor and I can see people, you know,

0:04:24 > 0:04:28my neighbours, coming...

0:04:30 > 0:04:32And it was just confusing.

0:04:32 > 0:04:35People were telling us to go back up

0:04:35 > 0:04:37because the firefighters told them to go back up,

0:04:37 > 0:04:40- like, to go to the top. - And we couldn't get out because

0:04:40 > 0:04:43they told us, "Go back, go back to your flat. Go back to your flat."

0:04:47 > 0:04:49The 21st floor neighbours that Helen

0:04:49 > 0:04:53and Lulya met trying to escape lived at number 182.

0:04:53 > 0:04:56A Moroccan family of five, the El Wahabi's had been

0:04:56 > 0:04:59renting their home from the council for 20 years.

0:05:02 > 0:05:05That flat was their home.

0:05:05 > 0:05:07It was actually like they took the place from Morocco

0:05:07 > 0:05:11and it was in the flat and I was, like, amazed.

0:05:11 > 0:05:15Chris's brother-in-law Abdulaziz came to the UK as a child.

0:05:15 > 0:05:18He worked in the hospital, and he was a porter,

0:05:18 > 0:05:21and he was much-loved by the people that he worked with.

0:05:21 > 0:05:24He carried over that sense of humour, which was contagious.

0:05:24 > 0:05:26It was the sort of job that you do...

0:05:26 > 0:05:29Someone's got to go into the operating theatre, someone's

0:05:29 > 0:05:32got to be shown to X-ray, someone's got to collect medicines...

0:05:32 > 0:05:35It's a very important job, you just don't get well paid for it.

0:05:37 > 0:05:41Abdulaziz and his wife Fouzia's eldest son Yasin was 20.

0:05:41 > 0:05:45Described as a grafter like his dad, he was studying accountancy

0:05:45 > 0:05:48while working part-time on an uncle's Moroccan rug stall

0:05:48 > 0:05:50and as football referee.

0:05:50 > 0:05:54His 15-year-old sister Nur Huda had just done her GSCEs.

0:05:54 > 0:05:58Relatives told us the parents were so proud of their three children,

0:05:58 > 0:06:02flat 182 was full of photos of them through the years.

0:06:02 > 0:06:04The family were part of the close-knit

0:06:04 > 0:06:06community on the 21st floor.

0:06:06 > 0:06:10Neighbours recall Fouzia El Wahabi's generosity.

0:06:10 > 0:06:13I remember, Christmas,

0:06:13 > 0:06:18she came to knock on our door

0:06:18 > 0:06:21with this huge chicken.

0:06:23 > 0:06:25I said, "Oh, er..."

0:06:25 > 0:06:27"Oh, this if for you cos it's Christmas

0:06:27 > 0:06:29"and, you know, it's a welcome..."

0:06:29 > 0:06:32Lovely, lovely family.

0:06:32 > 0:06:35Their youngest one, he used to come

0:06:35 > 0:06:41and knock our door every single Sunday to play with our youngest.

0:06:41 > 0:06:45He used to come to me and say, "Megan's dad, Megan's dad,

0:06:45 > 0:06:49- "can Megan go and play?"- Yeah.- He never used to call my by my name.

0:06:49 > 0:06:51He would always... "Megan's dad, Megan's dad."

0:06:56 > 0:07:00Whoa, look. The fire's spreading up.

0:07:00 > 0:07:02On the night of the fire,

0:07:02 > 0:07:04having tried to make it downstairs at the same time

0:07:04 > 0:07:07as Helen and Lulya, Abdulaziz El Wahabi

0:07:07 > 0:07:11and his family returned to their flat and called 999.

0:07:11 > 0:07:14He did leave the flat, but he went back into the flat

0:07:14 > 0:07:17when he was told to go back into the flat,

0:07:17 > 0:07:18so he followed the instructions.

0:07:20 > 0:07:24Marcia and Andreia Gomes lived next door in flat 183

0:07:24 > 0:07:27with their daughters Megan and Luana.

0:07:27 > 0:07:30An IT manager and a clothes shop supervisor who was heavily

0:07:30 > 0:07:32pregnant when the fire broke out,

0:07:32 > 0:07:35they'd been renting their flat from the council for ten years.

0:07:35 > 0:07:38When you went into the tower, it was your home.

0:07:38 > 0:07:40You wouldn't know that you were in a tower.

0:07:40 > 0:07:42Unless you looked out the window, you wouldn't know.

0:07:42 > 0:07:45A lot of our friends said, "Oh, I can't believe it's like this."

0:07:45 > 0:07:48I said, "Yeah, it's amazing. It's really nice."

0:07:48 > 0:07:51The view was amazing.

0:07:51 > 0:07:54It was in this flat, number 183, that Helen and Lulya

0:07:54 > 0:07:57took refuge on the night of the fire.

0:08:00 > 0:08:04Our neighbour knocked on our door and that's what woke us up.

0:08:04 > 0:08:08As soon as we opened the door, smoke came flying in, straight away.

0:08:08 > 0:08:11So, I said them, I said, "Look, come in. Go to the girls'..."

0:08:11 > 0:08:14Because they stay in... We've always stayed in each others' flats.

0:08:14 > 0:08:17So, I said, "Go to the girls' room, be with the girls,"

0:08:17 > 0:08:19cos she was panicking a little bit.

0:08:19 > 0:08:21And then I closed the door

0:08:21 > 0:08:23behind to try and stop the smoke coming in,

0:08:23 > 0:08:26but it was already thick, black smoke.

0:08:28 > 0:08:30So, I said to her, "OK, phone 999."

0:08:30 > 0:08:33I ended up speaking to the Fire Services

0:08:33 > 0:08:37and they were saying, "Stay put,

0:08:37 > 0:08:39"we're already aware of this."

0:08:39 > 0:08:41The normal thing that you'd get.

0:08:43 > 0:08:46Then we started getting phone calls from friends and family,

0:08:46 > 0:08:48basically saying, "You need to get out.

0:08:48 > 0:08:51"There's a fire in the building."

0:08:51 > 0:08:53I said, "I can't, there's too much smoke.

0:08:53 > 0:08:56"And as you know, my wife's pregnant."

0:08:56 > 0:08:58He said, "I know, but you need to try."

0:08:58 > 0:09:02So, we did try, the first time, but it was just too much.

0:09:02 > 0:09:05At one point, I think I asked one of my friends,

0:09:05 > 0:09:08"Can we speak to the fire people or the police?" You know?

0:09:08 > 0:09:10And she let me talk to them

0:09:10 > 0:09:13and we asked them, "What shall we do?"

0:09:13 > 0:09:17And they said to us, "No, someone's going to come and take you out."

0:09:17 > 0:09:21That's what they said to us, from two, three o'clock,

0:09:21 > 0:09:24so that's why we've been waiting and waiting and waiting.

0:09:24 > 0:09:27And then we call again and we ask them, and they say to us,

0:09:27 > 0:09:31"No, stay in. Don't come out. Don't come out."

0:09:31 > 0:09:34All of a sudden, everybody, you know, "Stay low as possible".

0:09:34 > 0:09:37All our windows were open to try and get rid of the smoke.

0:09:37 > 0:09:42At that time, obviously I knew it was quite bad,

0:09:42 > 0:09:45so I filled the bathtub with water,

0:09:45 > 0:09:48and then I left the shower on as well

0:09:48 > 0:09:51because I wanted to try and get some particles into the air

0:09:51 > 0:09:56to make it a little bit easier...to breathe.

0:09:56 > 0:10:01At around 3.30am, the flames reached flat 183.

0:10:01 > 0:10:05My room is on fire, just like that.

0:10:05 > 0:10:09All my curtains were on fire. My Moses basket was on fire.

0:10:09 > 0:10:11All that side of the window was all on fire.

0:10:11 > 0:10:14So, the only thing I could do at the moment was, literally,

0:10:14 > 0:10:18I grabbed the door, cos it's a fire door, I shut the door,

0:10:18 > 0:10:20and then I looked at them and I said, "We have to go now.

0:10:20 > 0:10:22"There's no turning back.

0:10:22 > 0:10:25"We have to try and, you know, it's now or never."

0:10:27 > 0:10:30The fire had reached Marcio and Andreia's bedroom,

0:10:30 > 0:10:32but what of their other neighbours?

0:10:32 > 0:10:34At around the time Helen had first woken up,

0:10:34 > 0:10:39the man in number 184 told us he'd got a call about the fire

0:10:39 > 0:10:42and left the one-bed flat he'd lived in for 27 years.

0:10:42 > 0:10:45Mustafa Sirag Abdu, a civil engineer from Eritrea,

0:10:45 > 0:10:48didn't want to take part in this film.

0:10:48 > 0:10:51Across the corridor, Helen had seen the El Wahabis

0:10:51 > 0:10:56go back into their flat, 182, at around 1.30am.

0:10:56 > 0:10:59We now know the fire was spreading round the building.

0:10:59 > 0:11:02In a call to emergency services around that time,

0:11:02 > 0:11:06we understand the El Wahabis were advised to stay in the flat.

0:11:06 > 0:11:09Later, relatives told us, in another 999 call

0:11:09 > 0:11:12at perhaps 2am, the family were told

0:11:12 > 0:11:15to move into this bedroom and put towels under the door.

0:11:19 > 0:11:21I met Chris Jones on the morning of the fire,

0:11:21 > 0:11:24as he waited for news of his wife's family.

0:11:26 > 0:11:31He told me of the earlier, desperate phone calls as the fire raged.

0:11:31 > 0:11:34And he just said, "Look, there's a lot of smoke in there,

0:11:34 > 0:11:39"we're not leaving." That's what he said. And afterwards, that was it.

0:11:39 > 0:11:41We phoned back, the phone just kept ringing.

0:11:41 > 0:11:44No-one answered the phone.

0:11:44 > 0:11:47Across the hallway from Chris's relatives,

0:11:47 > 0:11:51new tenants had moved into flat 185 just 11 days earlier.

0:11:51 > 0:11:55One of 12 Grenfell properties that were privately owned,

0:11:55 > 0:11:58this flat rented for more than £400 a week.

0:11:58 > 0:12:01By lucky coincidence, that evening, Lee's birthday,

0:12:01 > 0:12:04he and Julian were staying in a hotel.

0:12:04 > 0:12:06They got a call from their landlord about 3.30am,

0:12:06 > 0:12:10around the time the Gomes's flat caught fire.

0:12:10 > 0:12:14And he said, "The building's on fire, Grenfell Tower's on fire."

0:12:14 > 0:12:16So, I just said, "That's...

0:12:16 > 0:12:20"I'm really sorry to hear that, but we're here, it's OK. Is it bad?"

0:12:20 > 0:12:25And he was... He was like, "It's the whole thing. It's everything."

0:12:25 > 0:12:27He caught wind then of what I was talking about

0:12:27 > 0:12:29and started looking things up on the news,

0:12:29 > 0:12:32and I just saw from across the room his face just drop.

0:12:32 > 0:12:34My heart sank and I couldn't say anything.

0:12:34 > 0:12:38I just showed Lee the footage of what was going on.

0:12:38 > 0:12:40It took until the next day really for me to kind of think,

0:12:40 > 0:12:42"OK, no, no. This will have been a..."

0:12:42 > 0:12:46- Lives will have been lost. - "People will have died in this."

0:12:46 > 0:12:49At first, you think that people will be able to get out.

0:12:49 > 0:12:52There was so many families,

0:12:52 > 0:12:55so many children living there.

0:12:55 > 0:12:58But you just have this hazy memory of who you've seen...

0:13:01 > 0:13:04..and knowing that not all of them will be OK is...

0:13:09 > 0:13:12The neighbour nobody appears to have seen that night

0:13:12 > 0:13:13lived in flat 181.

0:13:13 > 0:13:16Ligaya Moore was retired.

0:13:16 > 0:13:18She'd moved from the Philippines 45 years earlier

0:13:18 > 0:13:21and had worked as a nanny and a waitress.

0:13:21 > 0:13:24She'd been there for many, many years. She was lovely.

0:13:24 > 0:13:28- Always played with the kids. - Yeah.- You know, for...

0:13:28 > 0:13:30I think she was 80-something years old

0:13:30 > 0:13:33- and she used to use the stairs, you know?- Yeah, as her exercise.

0:13:33 > 0:13:35As her exercise, which was amazing.

0:13:35 > 0:13:38From the 21st floor down to the ground, that's a lot of steps.

0:13:38 > 0:13:40Did she like the tower?

0:13:40 > 0:13:42Oh, yes, yes. She loved it

0:13:42 > 0:13:44because it's lovely,

0:13:44 > 0:13:46because it's a posh building.

0:13:46 > 0:13:47She has a double door,

0:13:47 > 0:13:48she saw all the views

0:13:48 > 0:13:51because she has a very big mirror...

0:13:51 > 0:13:53Windows. You can see everything.

0:13:53 > 0:13:56She loved it. She enjoyed it, being alone,

0:13:56 > 0:13:58sightseeing, seeing the beautiful view,

0:13:58 > 0:14:00the London Eye, everything.

0:14:02 > 0:14:05Nenita was the last person to see Ligaya alive.

0:14:05 > 0:14:09She said goodbye to her that night at around 10.30pm.

0:14:09 > 0:14:12Less than three hours later, Grenfell was ablaze.

0:14:12 > 0:14:13I cannot contact her.

0:14:13 > 0:14:17Keep on ringing until it's just shut down, the phone.

0:14:17 > 0:14:19And that morning, I searched for her.

0:14:22 > 0:14:26So many Grenfell residents didn't make it out, but incredibly,

0:14:26 > 0:14:29with the building looking like this, and their flat now on fire,

0:14:29 > 0:14:33those six people sheltering in flat 183,

0:14:33 > 0:14:35the Gomes family with Helen and her daughter,

0:14:35 > 0:14:37tried to leave the 21st floor.

0:14:41 > 0:14:44He said to me, "Helen, we need to go now, we need to go now,

0:14:44 > 0:14:46"or we're going to die. We have to make a move.

0:14:46 > 0:14:48"No turning back, we need to get out."

0:14:48 > 0:14:51So, before we left I got those tea towels,

0:14:51 > 0:14:53wrapped it round everybody's face,

0:14:53 > 0:14:54tied it round the back, and

0:14:54 > 0:14:56then got the big sheets and the big towels

0:14:56 > 0:14:59and put them over everybody cos I didn't know

0:14:59 > 0:15:03if there was going to be any fire or anything like that.

0:15:03 > 0:15:07So, it was literally, once we were lined up, I opened the door,

0:15:07 > 0:15:09Helen... You know, everybody, did exactly

0:15:09 > 0:15:11what they were supposed to do.

0:15:11 > 0:15:14They all went...

0:15:14 > 0:15:17Hit the door into the stairwell, grabbed the rail,

0:15:17 > 0:15:20and then started following it down.

0:15:20 > 0:15:22I had my dog,

0:15:22 > 0:15:26my friend Luana had her dog, and my mum was in the front,

0:15:26 > 0:15:29and Marcio was at the back.

0:15:31 > 0:15:33We took the stairs

0:15:33 > 0:15:37and...while I was going down, all the smoke,

0:15:37 > 0:15:41it's, like, really thick, so it's like...

0:15:41 > 0:15:44Thick air going into you is really strong, so everyone...

0:15:44 > 0:15:47I can hear everyone trying to find air.

0:15:47 > 0:15:51Like, everyone's screaming. Like, choking, gagging.

0:15:51 > 0:15:53What I didn't counter for was

0:15:53 > 0:15:58the amount of bodies that we had to trip over or step on.

0:15:58 > 0:16:02We were stepping on people's arms or legs.

0:16:02 > 0:16:04I remember there was this one man,

0:16:04 > 0:16:07the man I tripped over on the stairs.

0:16:07 > 0:16:10He was alive, but not...

0:16:10 > 0:16:14He couldn't get up cos he was old, cos I could tell by his voice.

0:16:14 > 0:16:17He was telling me, "Get off me, get off me." I felt really bad.

0:16:17 > 0:16:20I was saying, "Sorry, sorry." And I tried getting off him.

0:16:20 > 0:16:23I was trying to tell him to get up and get down,

0:16:23 > 0:16:27but he was... He couldn't get up.

0:16:27 > 0:16:31We were tripping on them.

0:16:31 > 0:16:34Um... Yeah, then my daughter fell on the floor.

0:16:34 > 0:16:37Though because I didn't let go of the rail,

0:16:37 > 0:16:41so I just grab her and I was literally, I was...

0:16:41 > 0:16:44..pushing her because she wanted to stop,

0:16:44 > 0:16:48but I knew if she stopped I would stop and...

0:16:48 > 0:16:50..that was it. But...

0:16:50 > 0:16:53Just...it was horrible. Horrible.

0:16:53 > 0:16:56We're just going. We're just going

0:16:56 > 0:16:59because if we don't go then we're going to die.

0:16:59 > 0:17:02So we're trying to run, we're just...

0:17:02 > 0:17:06You know, just scurrying, just keep on going, just keep on going.

0:17:06 > 0:17:08And then I thought at one point

0:17:08 > 0:17:12I was going to collapse, but I was lucky.

0:17:12 > 0:17:15It was a light, a big light, and there was...

0:17:16 > 0:17:18Like, I felt the fresh air.

0:17:18 > 0:17:21That's when I woke up and then, when I looked,

0:17:21 > 0:17:25it was Andreia and Megan behind me.

0:17:25 > 0:17:30And there was no Lulya, there was no Luana, and there was no Marcio.

0:17:30 > 0:17:35So I met the fireman downstairs

0:17:35 > 0:17:37and he asked me, "Which floor are you? Which floor are you?"

0:17:37 > 0:17:39And I said to him, "Well, I came from the 21st floor

0:17:39 > 0:17:43"and I want to go back." And he said to me, "You're not going back."

0:17:43 > 0:17:44And I said to him, "I am going back.

0:17:44 > 0:17:48"I'm not leaving without my daughter."

0:17:48 > 0:17:51It's understood that temperatures reached 1,600 degrees

0:17:51 > 0:17:53inside Grenfell Tower.

0:17:53 > 0:17:58Back up on the 21st floor, six people were still trapped,

0:17:58 > 0:18:01including the pensioner Ligaya Moore.

0:18:01 > 0:18:03It may never be known exactly what happened to her

0:18:03 > 0:18:06on the last night of her life,

0:18:06 > 0:18:10but Ligaya was identified last month from remains found in her flat.

0:18:13 > 0:18:17Next door to Ligaya Moore, sheltering in flat 182,

0:18:17 > 0:18:18were the El Wahabis.

0:18:18 > 0:18:21They'd followed the direction to stay put,

0:18:21 > 0:18:23having tried to escape early on.

0:18:23 > 0:18:25Tragically, this family -

0:18:25 > 0:18:28father Abdulaziz, mother Fouzia,

0:18:28 > 0:18:32their daughter Nur Huda and sons Yasin and eight-year-old Mehdi -

0:18:32 > 0:18:35were to lose their lives that night.

0:18:35 > 0:18:39We just knew that they were in there and they weren't coming out.

0:18:39 > 0:18:43- That's what they told you? - Yeah. And you can't ask...

0:18:43 > 0:18:45You can't put yourself in that position.

0:18:45 > 0:18:47When we got there, we were looking, we're thinking,

0:18:47 > 0:18:49"What the hell's going on?"

0:18:49 > 0:18:52It just kept burning and burning and burning.

0:18:55 > 0:18:58Only four of the residents of the 21st floor

0:18:58 > 0:18:59had escaped the building -

0:18:59 > 0:19:02Mr Adbu, at around 1.10am,

0:19:02 > 0:19:06and Helen, Andreia and Megan some time after 3.30am.

0:19:06 > 0:19:09But Marcio and the 12-year-olds Luana and Lulya

0:19:09 > 0:19:11were still on the staircase.

0:19:16 > 0:19:17I kept shouting to the girls, you know,

0:19:17 > 0:19:20"Keep going, keep going, keep going down the stairs,"

0:19:20 > 0:19:23try and give them as much encouragement as I could.

0:19:23 > 0:19:27But at one point my daughter replied back to me and said, "I can't."

0:19:36 > 0:19:38And then...

0:19:38 > 0:19:41It was coming from behind,

0:19:41 > 0:19:44so that's when I realised that she must have let go of the rail.

0:19:44 > 0:19:46Luan was screaming at the back.

0:19:46 > 0:19:49I was trying to, but I don't think he heard me.

0:19:49 > 0:19:53He heard Luana, and then he tried to go back and he was telling us,

0:19:53 > 0:19:56"I'm here, come, tell me where you are."

0:19:56 > 0:19:59I said, "I'm right here, I'm waiting for you. Follow my voice.

0:19:59 > 0:20:01"I'm right here." So, I kept shouting to them.

0:20:01 > 0:20:05So, that's why I know I stayed in the stairwell a lot longer,

0:20:05 > 0:20:08so I don't know exactly how long it took to go out.

0:20:08 > 0:20:12So I tried to climb up the stairs, and then she said, "I can't, Dad.

0:20:12 > 0:20:14"I can't." And then at that point there was...

0:20:14 > 0:20:16She didn't talk any more.

0:20:17 > 0:20:20But the smoke was so heavy you couldn't see

0:20:20 > 0:20:22anything that was there, so I just kept trying to shout again,

0:20:22 > 0:20:24"I'm still here, I'm waiting, I'm waiting."

0:20:24 > 0:20:27I went down, like,

0:20:27 > 0:20:30another ten sets of stairs and...

0:20:31 > 0:20:35And then I passed out and then I let go of my dog,

0:20:35 > 0:20:37cos I couldn't breathe any more.

0:20:37 > 0:20:40I looked down, and there was a light coming up,

0:20:40 > 0:20:43and it was a fireman with the gear.

0:20:43 > 0:20:45So, I quickly just ran down, I grabbed him and I said,

0:20:45 > 0:20:50"My daughter and her friend, they've literally just passed out just here.

0:20:50 > 0:20:53"Need your help to grab them." So, we were both going up,

0:20:53 > 0:20:55but then his colleague was behind, I didn't see him,

0:20:55 > 0:20:58but he grabbed me and said, "No, you can't go up."

0:20:58 > 0:21:00Erm... And I said, "I need my daughter and her friend,

0:21:00 > 0:21:04"she's up here." He said, "We'll go, we'll go." So, they went.

0:21:04 > 0:21:08I opened my eyes and I can see some kind of light.

0:21:11 > 0:21:15And then I think, "Oh, maybe I'm out of the building.

0:21:15 > 0:21:17"Maybe I'm OK."

0:21:17 > 0:21:20And then, like, everything goes black.

0:21:20 > 0:21:22They grabbed them, cos they can see with the light,

0:21:22 > 0:21:27they grabbed them and then we all helped carry them down.

0:21:27 > 0:21:30So, as I came down the rest of the stairs,

0:21:30 > 0:21:34I started thinking to myself, you know, "Where's Andreia?

0:21:34 > 0:21:37"Where's my youngest daughter?"

0:21:37 > 0:21:41And at point, I went full-on panic.

0:21:41 > 0:21:45Erm... Because in my head, I started thinking,

0:21:45 > 0:21:48"All those bodies that I stepped on,

0:21:48 > 0:21:52"that I had to manoeuvre over, was that my daughter?

0:21:52 > 0:21:55"Was that my wife?"

0:21:55 > 0:21:58So, I tried to go back up for them, to try and find them,

0:21:58 > 0:22:01but the firefighters didn't let me.

0:22:01 > 0:22:05They all came, grabbed me, and took me down and said,

0:22:05 > 0:22:07"No, you can't go back up, you can't go back up."

0:22:07 > 0:22:13They had smashed the windows at the bottom to make a walkway

0:22:13 > 0:22:17and then they had the police shielding,

0:22:17 > 0:22:19because everything was falling down,

0:22:19 > 0:22:22and at the bottom it was just...

0:22:22 > 0:22:25It felt like lava. It was all melted plastic.

0:22:25 > 0:22:28Black, thick, melted plastic you were stepping on.

0:22:28 > 0:22:31And then they had to use the riot shields to stop

0:22:31 > 0:22:33things from hitting you.

0:22:33 > 0:22:36The police then came and grabbed me and I was like, "No, I need to

0:22:36 > 0:22:39"go back, I still need my wife, I need to see where she is."

0:22:39 > 0:22:42And the policeman said, "I'm not promising anything,

0:22:42 > 0:22:44"but there's a pregnant woman over there."

0:22:44 > 0:22:48And I sort of relaxed a bit at that point.

0:22:48 > 0:22:50And then the other one said, "Is your daughter's name Megan,

0:22:50 > 0:22:54"by any chance?" And at that point, I just went...

0:22:54 > 0:22:57You know, I'm good here because I know they've got out.

0:22:59 > 0:23:0331 people who lived on the top three floors of Grenfell Tower

0:23:03 > 0:23:06are believed to have died that night.

0:23:06 > 0:23:09Only five others escaped from there besides the Gomes family -

0:23:09 > 0:23:12Helen and Lulya.

0:23:12 > 0:23:15When I went downstairs and the guy, the fireman, he asked me,

0:23:15 > 0:23:17"Which floor did you come from?"

0:23:17 > 0:23:20And I said to him, "21st floor," he was really shocked...

0:23:21 > 0:23:25..because we came out around four o'clock and it was really bad,

0:23:25 > 0:23:28really, really bad, and I don't even know how we made it.

0:23:28 > 0:23:30How, I don't know.

0:23:33 > 0:23:38The deaths of all five members of the 21st floor's El Wahabi family

0:23:38 > 0:23:42have left their relatives devastated.

0:23:42 > 0:23:45The youngest, judo enthusiast Mehdi, was just eight.

0:23:49 > 0:23:52His school now has a memorial to him in its playground.

0:23:55 > 0:23:58I would be pleased

0:23:58 > 0:24:02if his last moments were with the mother

0:24:02 > 0:24:05he clearly loved and cared about,

0:24:05 > 0:24:08and she would want her son close to her.

0:24:08 > 0:24:14His brother and sister were there as well and I can only assume it is...

0:24:14 > 0:24:18If there was a good way to die, that would be the best way to die,

0:24:18 > 0:24:21amongst people that loved you and cared for you.

0:24:21 > 0:24:24And when you think about that last conversation you had with him,

0:24:24 > 0:24:27do you think about that conversation?

0:24:27 > 0:24:29Yeah, I do,

0:24:29 > 0:24:32and I'm bitter about it. I'm not going to say I'm happy

0:24:32 > 0:24:35and it's something we have to learn to live with.

0:24:35 > 0:24:38But...I'm not going to forget.

0:24:38 > 0:24:42I'm going to keep fighting the only way I know how

0:24:42 > 0:24:46and I want someone's head, or heads, to be on the block.

0:24:46 > 0:24:49There's no way you're getting away with it.

0:24:59 > 0:25:02The annual celebration of West London life takes on

0:25:02 > 0:25:05new resonance in the wake of one of the biggest disasters

0:25:05 > 0:25:07in recent British history.

0:25:09 > 0:25:11Justice is the biggest thing for everybody that

0:25:11 > 0:25:13lived in Grenfell Tower.

0:25:13 > 0:25:17You know, all those that passed away and for the survivors as well.

0:25:20 > 0:25:24It means somebody, or a company, being held accountable.

0:25:25 > 0:25:30Andreia and Marcio didn't just lose close neighbours and friends.

0:25:30 > 0:25:34Andreia didn't know what was going on cos she was in an induced coma.

0:25:34 > 0:25:39My daughters were all in intensive care in induced comas as well.

0:25:39 > 0:25:42The doctor came and said... I knew something was wrong straight away

0:25:42 > 0:25:44when they told me,

0:25:44 > 0:25:48in these scenarios, they take the mother as a priority.

0:25:48 > 0:25:51Erm... So, I broke down for a bit cos I knew.

0:25:53 > 0:25:56I knew what they were saying without saying it.

0:25:56 > 0:26:00And then later on they said, you know,

0:26:00 > 0:26:03the baby had passed away.

0:26:03 > 0:26:07I'm so sorry. And he was seven months old, right?

0:26:07 > 0:26:09Seven months.

0:26:09 > 0:26:11And did they say why?

0:26:11 > 0:26:13What caused that?

0:26:14 > 0:26:18I was... To me, they didn't say anything.

0:26:18 > 0:26:21It was all him, all him.

0:26:21 > 0:26:22They didn't...

0:26:22 > 0:26:27They can't say 100%, but they said that the heart just couldn't cope

0:26:27 > 0:26:32with the lack of oxygen that the baby didn't get.

0:26:36 > 0:26:39Andreia and their daughters were treated for cyanide poisoning

0:26:39 > 0:26:42in hospital, so too was Helen's daughter Lulya,

0:26:42 > 0:26:45but they had got separated in the escape.

0:26:45 > 0:26:48It took me the whole day to find my daughter

0:26:48 > 0:26:53and I didn't even know that she collapsed on the tenth floor.

0:26:53 > 0:26:57And I think, luckily,

0:26:57 > 0:27:00I found my daughter around six o'clock.

0:27:00 > 0:27:03Six o'clock in the evening, that's when I found her,

0:27:03 > 0:27:08and she was lying in the bed in a coma.

0:27:09 > 0:27:11Yeah.

0:27:12 > 0:27:15I think we were lucky, yeah.

0:27:19 > 0:27:20We're so lucky.

0:27:29 > 0:27:33My wish was that everybody made it out,

0:27:33 > 0:27:35especially my close neighbours that didn't make it out.

0:27:42 > 0:27:45It's been very difficult for my daughters,

0:27:45 > 0:27:50especially cos they had kids, and we knew each other really well.

0:27:52 > 0:27:56You know, was it lucky? Yes, maybe for us.

0:27:56 > 0:28:00You know, it's just a difficult situation, really, to deal with.

0:28:00 > 0:28:03It's very, very emotional. Very.

0:28:03 > 0:28:06You know, thinking that, you know, you've got friends there who

0:28:06 > 0:28:09support you, who's always there with you, you know?

0:28:09 > 0:28:12And then, all of a sudden,

0:28:12 > 0:28:14they're not there.

0:28:17 > 0:28:21It's not easy. I can tell you that it's not easy.