6 years on, London's deadly Grenfell Tower fire commemorated

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – On the tragedy’s sixth anniversary, the UK on Wednesday is remembering the 72 victims of London’s Grenfell Tower fire.

On June 14, 2017, the 24-story housing towers – with their mainly working-class and minority ethnic residents – burned for 60 hours, killing 72 people with more than 70 injured, all in North Kensington, one of London’s richest neighborhoods.

According to records, the tragedy was the deadliest structural fire in the UK since the 1988 Piper Alpha oil-platform disaster and the worst UK residential fire since World War II, during the Nazi Blitz.

"We will do everything in our power to make changes to improve our service, to be the best we can be and to make sure this devastating tragedy is never repeated," London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said in a statement marking the sixth anniversary of the deadly tragedy.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and main opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer also commemorated the fire’s victims during weekly Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.

"We remember the 72 people who lost their lives and remain as committed as ever, to ensuring that such a tragedy can never happen again," told Sunak.

Joining the premier remembering the victims, Starmer said: "Six years on, the justice they're fighting for is long overdue."

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry, tasked with examining the circumstances leading up to and surrounding the fire, has yet to publish its final conclusions.

According to its website, the inquiry so far has disclosed over 320,00 documents, received 1,600 witness statements, and held more than 300 public hearings.