The inquests into 10 more victims of the Grenfell fire have been opened, bringing the total number of formally identified dead to 34.
Coroner’s court staff said the most recently-named deceased all had to be identified by their dental records or by DNA checks on their remains.
The remains of Zainab Deen, 32, were recovered from the 14th floor, and she was identified by an examination of her dental records, Westminster coroner’s court heard. The provisional cause of death was “consistent with the effects of fire”, the coroner’s officer, Eric Sword told the court, which was the same for all 10 victims whose inquests were launched on Wednesday.
Zainab’s father, Zainu, and stepmother, Maria Deen, said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm we have been notified by the police that our daughter Zainab Deen died in the tragic Grenfell Tower fire. Zainab has been missing with her son, our grandchild, Jeremiah, who we still await news on.” The family asked to be allowed to grieve in private.
The court also heard that the remains of Fathia Ahmed, 71, were discovered on the 23rd floor. She too was identified by her dental records. The remains of Marco Gottardi, 27, and Berkti Haftom, 29, were also found on the 23rd floor, the court heard.
Haftom’s family said: “Berkti was a generous, caring, loving mother, partner, sister, aunty and friend and she will be missed by us all forever.” Her 12-year-old son is still missing. They lived on the 18th floor, and are understood to have tried to seek safety at the top of the block as the fire spread.
The inquest of Hamid Kani, 60, was also opened. His remains were also found on the 23rd floor, suggesting that he also fled upstairs in search of safety.
The remains of Abdul Aziz El-Wahabi, 52, and his wife Faouzia El-Wahabi, 42 were discovered on the 21st floor. He was indentified by DNA; she was identified by an examination of dental records. The remains of brothers Mohammed Hanif, 26 and Mohammed Hamid, 27, were found on the 17th floor, and identified by DNA checks.
The coroner also opened an inquest into the death of Steven James Power, 63, whose remains were found on the 15th floor, and identified by DNA. Relatives told the media at the time of the fire that he had spoken to them by phone and told them: “I’m staying here with the dogs.”
Dr Fiona Wilcox, the Westminster coroner, expressed her “condolences to all those who have been touched by the death of these people”. She added: “There is nothing this court can do to make it any better. All we can hope is that we do nothing to make it any worse.”
