Hundred of protesters chanting “we want justice” stormed a town hall in London on Friday after a deadly fire at a block of flats that killed at least 30 people, Reuters reporters at the scene said.
The protesters forced their way through an automatic door at Kensington and Chelsea council town hall and sought to gain entry to an upper floor.
Police barred their way and scuffles broke out, a Reuters reporter said.
The protesters chanted: “we want justice, “bring them out” and “shame on you”.
A larger crowd of people remained outside.
Some people then left the building though others remained inside.
Several dozen police, including mounted officers, were in attendance.
The protesters were angered when no one from the council came out to address their concerns, reporters said.
While the deadly blaze at the Grenfell Tower in north Kensington has prompted an outpouring of generosity, it has also unleashed fury at the authorities as the charred tower was cast as a deadly symbol of a divided society.
There have been demands for answers as to how the blaze was able to engulf the 24-storey building.
The protesters demanded explanations to how the fire trapped many on the upper floors, along with complaints that not enough was being done to provide assistance for people left homeless or information about those still missing.
British Prime Minister Theresa May visited the injured in hospital but is herself under mounting criticism for not meeting victims of the blaze sooner.
Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, London mayor Sadiq Khan, Prince William and Queen Elizabeth, 91, have all visited residents from the tower which housed around 600 people.
Since an inferno engulfed the London tower block she lived in, Sawsan Choucair has been desperately trying to find news of what happened to the other six members of her family who were living there with her.
“I’m just looking at that building every day.
I’m like, God help these people,” said Choucair, 42, who had lived with her family in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower for just over a year.
“I’m just hoping that they are in hospital, they’ve made it through the stairway, got out.
“Everyone – not just my family, every single person in there. I’m praying for them,” she said.
At least 30 people died after a blaze took hold in the early hours of Wednesday and engulfed the tower block in west London which housed some 600 residents in more than 120 apartments.
With dozens still unaccounted for, police have said that the death toll would rise and some victims might never be identified as firefighters search the charred shell of the building to locate the victims’ remains. (Reuters/NAN)
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