London fire victims remembered in memorial service

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - Relatives of the 71 victims of last June’s Grenfell Tower fire disaster filled St. Paul’s Cathedral in London on Thursday for a memorial service six months after the catastrophe.

An emotional service saw hymns sang by the cathedral choir and an oud recital by Syrian musician Rihab Azhar.

A group of Muslim students from Al-Sadiq and Al-Zahra schools sang a song, “Insa Allah”.

The service, to which 1,500 people were invited, continued with a speech from the Bishop of Kensington Graham Tomlin and a minute of silence before Leonard Cohen’s song Hallelujah was performed by the Ebony Steel band.

The multi-faith service was attended by Prince Charles, alongside with other senior members of the Royal Family, Prime Minister Theresa May, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Mariah Jafaari, who lost his father Ali in the disaster, read the poem Remember by Mavlana Jalaluddin Rumi before schoolchildren gave green hearts they made to the audience.

The commemorative service ended with a blessing from the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

The final death toll in one of the worst fire disasters in the U.K. is 71, including 18 children, according to British police. The last two bodies from the scene of the blaze were identified in November.

The June 14 fire that cost the lives of dozens of residents was blamed on a faulty fridge according to earlier reports. The blaze spread quickly due to the building's cladding, which was thought to have worked as an accelerator.

A public inquiry ordered by Prime Minister Theresa May and a police inquiry are still underway to determine the cause and the reasons for the high death toll in the disaster.