Thousands of residents in a sprawling north London housing estate were forced to leave their apartments late on Friday after fire checks carried out in the wake of the deadly Grenfell Tower blaze found the buildings to be unsafe.
Amid chaotic scenes, residents clutching children, pets and small amounts of clothing and food emerged from five tower blocks to sleep on air beds in a local sports centre after hearing on the news that their buildings were being evacuated.
Fire checks have been carried out on some 600 high-rise buildings across England after a fire ravaged a social tower block in west London last week, killing at least 79 people.
"I know it's difficult but Grenfell changes everything," Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council, said in a statement late on Friday.
"I don't believe we can take any risks with our residents' safety."
Police investigating the cause of the deadly 24-storey Grenfell Tower blaze have said the fire started in a fridge but spread rapidly due to the use of external cladding on the building, trapping residents in their beds as they slept.
The cladding has since failed all safety checks.
The fire has become a flashpoint for public anger at Prime Minister Theresa May's record in government and cuts to local authority budgets. Grenfell Tower is situated in Kensington, one of the richest boroughs in Europe.
Battling to save her position after losing her majority in a June 8 election, May has promised to do everything she can to protect those residents who survived the fire and to improve the quality and safety of public housing in Britain.
The London Fire Brigade said it had found a number of fire safety issues at the Chalcots Estate in Camden, north London, and advised that residents should leave the building until they were resolved.
Residents complained of first hearing about the evacuation from the media and getting very short notice to leave from city officials going door to door. Not all residents agreed to go.
The council's leader, Gould, said it would take up to four weeks to repair the blocks that were evacuated and said that some 4,000 residents were affected.
"It was farcical communication," 21-year-old Daniel Tackaberry told Reuters outside a nearby sports centre where the local council had laid out air beds for people for whom they could not find hotels.
"You don't get everyone to leave this quickly."
British police have said they are considering bringing manslaughter charges over the Grenfell fire, the most deadly blaze in London since World War Two.
Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack was asked on Friday whether the insulation and aluminium tiles used on Grenfell were acceptable for such buildings. "No they're not," she said.
"All I can say at the moment is they don't pass any of the safety tests. So that will form part of what is a manslaughter investigation."
As well as possible manslaughter, police will consider health and safety offences and breaches of other building regulations.
Reuters
Sat Jun 24 2017
Residents are evacuated from the Taplow Tower residential block as a precautionary measure following concerns over the type of cladding used on the outside of the building on the Chalcots Estate in north London, Britain, June 23, 2017. -REUTERS/Hanna
Microsoft uji VASA, watak AI untuk panggilan video bebas kamera web
Microsoft Research memperlihatkan VASA iaitu sistem AI yang boleh menjana wajah manusia yang hiper-realistik berserta dengan emosi pada wajah.
Malaysia, Thailand tingkatkan kerjasama perangi jenayah rentas sempadan
Kerjasama itu telah dibincangkan ketika mesyuarat dua hala beliau dengan Timbalan Perdana Menteri merangkap Menteri Dalam Negeri Thailand Anutin Charnvirakul pada Khamis.
YouTube uji ciri 'tanya AI' untuk rumuskan video
Apabila butang Ask ditekan, beberapa dialog diberikan oleh chatbot dengan gambar profil seakan ikon Gemini.
Usaha cari bakat baharu golongan Orang Asli, luar bandar perlu dipergiat - Hannah
Kementerian Belia dan Sukan tidak sesekali akan meminggirkan kanak-kanak Orang Asli dan luar bandar dalam menyediakan peluang dan akses untuk bersukan.
Lelaki bakar diri di luar mahkamah perbicaraan Trump meninggal dunia
Maxwell Azzarello didakwa menuang cecair mudah terbakar pada tubuhnya sebelum melemparkan risalah teori konspirasi ke udara.
PKR Sabah minta PM tumpu ikhtiar noktah kemiskinan tegar, isu dokumentasi
Tumpuan kepada ikhtiar menoktahkan kemiskinan tegar dan isu dokumentasi rakyat antara tiga cadangan khusus diutarakan Majlis Pimpinan Negeri (MPN) PKR Sabah kepada Perdana Menteri.
Harga jualan maksimum benih padi sah program IBPS RM54, RM58
Harga jualan maksimum benih padi sah CL220 bagi program Insentif Benih Padi Sah (IBPS) ditetapkan pada kadar RM54 di peringkat pemborong dan RM58 di peringkat peruncit berkuat kuasa 15 April.
PN masih menunggu butiran memorandum mengenai peruntukan
Perikatan Nasional masih menunggu butiran memorandum persefahaman yang akan dikemukakan oleh Kerajaan Perpaduan selepas pertemuan antara kerajaan dan wakil Ahli Parlimen pembangkang baru baru ini.
Tun Hanif selamat dikebumi Tanah Perkuburan Islam Bukit Kiara
Jenazah Allahyarham Tun Hanif Omar selamat dikebumikan jam 3.17 petang pada Sabtu.
Kekejaman Zionis: Rakyat Palestin terkorban melepasi 34,000 nyawa
Angka kematian rakyat Palestin akibat serangan Israel kini melepasi 34,000 nyawa setakat Jumaat.