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UK police consider individual manslaughter charges over Grenfell fire

This file photo taken on June 15, 2017 shows the remains of residential tower block Grenfell Tower in west London, a day after it was gutted by fire. (Photo by AFP)

British police say they suspect individual manslaughter offences may have been committed in the Grenfell Tower fire incident. 

At a briefing on the progress of the Metropolitan police investigation into the June 14 disaster, police said they were looking at the possibility of charges relating to fraud, misconduct, health and safety breaches and breaches of fire safety regulations in relation to the June 14 blaze.

Police have formally identified 60 of the victims, but forensic work to find human remains among debris inside the charred ruin is ongoing.

"The kind of stuff I would envisage we may come across would involve offenses perhaps of fraud, misconduct offenses, health and safety breaches, breaches of fire safety regulations, and of course offenses of manslaughter, whether that be on a corporate or an individual level," Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said at the briefing. 

Police are also investigating cases involving people who falsely claimed money after the fire and possible thefts from flats on the lower levels of the tower while it was under 24-hour security.

Scotland Yard had previously said they had “reasonable grounds” to suspect that corporate manslaughter offences may have been committed. 

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The police further said that the number of people who died in the blaze might "come down a little." 

On Wednesday June 14, a massive fire erupted at London’s Grenfell Tower.

The building is a 24-story, 67-meter high tower block with 120 separate apartments in North Kensington, west London.

The cause of the fire, where many of the residents were Muslims, is not yet known and the deadly incident is still under investigation.


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