London fire: 42 bodies found in one room, video alleges
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A view of an apartment in London's Grenfell Tower after a fire engulfed the 24-story building. 79 people have been confirmed dead. (Metropolitan Police via AP)
A grisly claim that 42 bodies were found in a single room in the London apartment tower that caught fire last week has swept the Internet, lending added drama to a horrific story.
The claim stems from J Smith’s YouTube video, and has been picked up by several UK newspapers, though fire officials have not verified it.
Authorities have confirmed that 79 people died in the blaze that started early Wednesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}GRENFELL TOWER: FIVE LONDON FIRE VICTIMS FORMALLY IDENTIFIED
A man who allegedly lives near Grenfell Tower said he knew families in the building and has claimed that the 42 bodies, including those of children and the elderly, were discovered together in one room after the building was caught on fire, according to The Mirror.
"I've got a friend who works for the fire brigade here, yeah? Yesterday on the phone he said they found about 42 bodies in one room, all hiding together. No one knows that,” the man said in a video filmed near the burnt out building.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Members of the emergency services work inside burnt out remains of the Grenfell apartment tower in North Kensington, London, Britain, June 18, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall - RTS17KNS
Firemen, left, inspect the scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London, Thursday, June 15, 2017, after a massive fire raced through the 24-storey high-rise apartment building in west London early Wednesday. Firefighters are beginning the task of combing through the devastated apartment tower, checking integrity of the structure and searching to find victims.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein) (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
The remains of Grenfell Tower stand in London, Saturday, June 17, 2017. Police Commander Stuart Cundy said Saturday it will take weeks or longer to recover and identify all the dead in the public housing block that was devastated by a fire early Wednesday. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
"It's only because we know the brother, he's a fireman, that he told us this - but he can't tell you lot that. He can't come out because he'll probably get the sack or something. But he said they found 42 bodies in one room, bruv, in one room. From children to old people."
LONDON FIRE: POLICE RELEASE IMAGES OF DEVASTATING TOWER INFERNO
But a London Fire Brigade spokesperson told news.com.au that the discovery “doesn’t sound right to me.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It’s the first I’ve heard of it. You’d think it would have come out by now,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for Metropolitan Police, meantime, said that the discovery is “nothing we’ve been made aware of. Personally, I’m not aware of that, no.”
Discussion of the room comes after two British officials announced that new exterior cladding utilized in a renovation of the 24-story building may have been prohibited according to British building guidelines. That paneling has been blamed for rapidly spreading the fire.