A six-month-old baby was found dead in her mother’s arms after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, officials said Wednesday as the death toll rose to 80.
The bodies of Leena Belkadi and her mother, Farah Hamdan, were located in a stairwell between the 19th and 20th floors of the London high-rise, according to an inquest by Westminster Coroner’s Court.
Leena’s eight-year-old sister, Malak, was recovered from the 20th floor and later died at St. Mary’s Hospital, where she was reportedly taken with her other sister Tazmin, six.
The girls’ father, Omar Belkadi, also perished in the inferno.
Hamdan’s cousin, Adel Chaoui, previously told The Telegraph of the horrific struggle the family faced in locating their family.
“We have a six and an eight-year-old – one is traumatised and the other is in a coma. When she went into hospital she was just screaming. And rather than trying to identify who these children are and who their parents are, protocol means they can’t identify them at this time.”
“We have had no help from the police, we understand that they’re busy but they’ve got casualties in the hospitals.”
Tazmin Belkadi (L) survived the inferno. Tragically, her sister Malak Belkadi (R) was rescued from the blaze but later died in hospital.
“My family has been round all the hospitals asking for anyone who matches the descriptions.”
He explained that authorities are following the same protocol used in the aftermath of a terrorist incident, which has prevented the exchange of vital information.
“The police are following protocol they have in place during terrorist incidents. There needs to be separate protocol for civil disasters. That’s what’s going wrong here.”
“They’re still treating everyone as suspects.”
WATCH: A witness describes the moment a baby was thrown from the burning building. Post continues…
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Fiona McCormack said the full death toll will not be known for “many months.”
“We are many months from being able to provide a number which we believe accurately represents the total loss of life inside Grenfell Tower. Only after we have completed a search and recovery operation, which will take until the end of the year,” she said.
“What I can say is that we believe that around 80 people are either dead or sadly missing and I must presume that they are dead.”
She added: “I don’t want there to be any hidden victims. We want to understand the true human cost of this tragedy.”
As specialist teams and search dogs continue to sift through the wreckage, it’s emerged that the US had banned the type of cladding that may have caused the 24-storey block to go up in flames.
