Gurdwaras, Mosques and churches in West London have opened their doors to offer assistance to the survivors of a huge fire that engulfed a 24-storey residential tower block, killing 17 persons and injuring over 70 others.
“Sikh gurdwaras in London have started collecting and distributing spare clothes, toys, toiletries for Grenfell Tower evacuees,” Harjinder Harjinder Kukreja, a Sikh philanthropist, said.
“The evacuees only have what they’re wearing. We need to support them with spare necessities,” he was quoted as saying by metro.co.uk.
London’s Sikh community was also praised for helping people in the wake of the UK terror attack.
While St Clements Church in Treadgold St has been turned into an evacuation centre to support Grenfell Tower residents who have managed to escape the blaze.
“If you can help with clothes, food, blankets, toiletries etc please donate,” Labour MP David Lammy said.
The area around Grenfell Tower is home to a large number of Muslims. It has been reported that Muslim communities have rushed to the assistance of affected residents.
“Local Mosque in #latimerroad area open doors for help. Really appreciated by locals. #GrenfellTower #LondonFire,” Syed Ajmal Kazmi said.
One resident, Mohammed, who escaped with his family, said they were up late because of it being Ramazan so they were able to escape the building quickly after smelling smoke.
It is believed that Muslims in the building, up at GMT 1:00 am due to Ramazan, acted as lifesavers, alerting other residents and helping people to get out of the burning building.
The fire is believed to have broken out on the second floor of the tower block housing 120 flats over 20 residential levels and four community levels and had soon engulfed the entire building.