Pinoys among hurt in London tower fire –embassy

Several Filipinos were injured and affected by the blaze that ravaged a west London tower block on Wednesday, according to the Philippine Embassy in the United Kingdom.
"The Embassy has confirmed that Filipinos are among those injured and affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower," the embassy said in post on Facebook.
The embassy did not say how many Filipinos were affected, but said "a number of them" were brought to emergency shelters at St. Clement's Church, the St. Francis of Assisi Church and the Portobello Rugby Club on Walmer.


UK Consul General Senen Mangalile, in an interview on State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, said they don't have the exact number of Filipinos living in the fire-hit building.
"Wala tayong konkretong datos kung ilan talaga silang nakatira diyan, pero 'yung mga anecdotal account ng mga kababayan natin nagsasabi na marami silang nakatira doon," he said.
Mangalile said the embassy's Assistance to Nationals team is going around hospitals to check on Filipino casualties.
"So far po may mga reports na galing din sa kanilang mga kamag-anak na yung ibang mga Pilipino o Filipino-British community members natin ay nandun nga sa ospital," he said.
Filipinos who are concerned about their relatives in London are encouraged to call Casualty Bureau 0800 0961 233 or 020 7158 0197.
London Fire Brigade said the fire had engulfed all floors from the second to the top of the 24-storey Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate in west London.
Some people were trapped in the fire, with residents desperately shouting for help from windows on upper floors as the fire spread, according to some British media reports.
Mangalile, in an earlier interview on Balitanghali, said there are about 5,000 Filipinos in the Royal Borough of Kensington where the Grenfell Tower is located.
Mangalile also said the embassy is ready to provide assistance to Filipino victims of the blaze. —KBK, GMA News

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