The move, which is expected to take two years, has angered some survivors and families of the 72 people killed in the massive inferno.
London’s Grenfell Tower – where 72 people died in 2017 in Britain’s worst residential fire since World War II – is to be demolished, the UK government confirmed on Friday, February 7. The move, which is expected to take two years, has angered some survivors and families of those killed in the massive inferno, which destroyed the 24-storey block in the west of Britain’s capital.
“Grenfell Tower will be carefully taken down to the ground,” the government said in a statement, confirming what victims’ groups said Thursday they had been told. The work will start after the eighth anniversary of the blaze on June 14 and will be done carefully to ensure that materials can be included in any future memorial, the statement said. The government said safety was the primary reason for the demolition.
“It remains stable because of the measures put in place to protect it, but even with [the] installation of additional props, the condition of the building will continue to worsen over time,” the statement said. “Engineers also advise it is not practicable to retain many of the floors of the building in place as part of a memorial that must last in perpetuity.”
