The Ethopian taxi driver whose faulty fridge is alleged to have caused the Grenfell inferno said he will be forever haunted by what happened. Behailu Kebede, a father of one, raised the alarm after flames took hold in his flat at number 16 on the fourth floor. Seventeen people have been confirmed killed in the blaze that ripped through the 24-storey block in White City, west London, on Wednesday morning. But it is feared the death toll could soar into the hundreds, with many still missing. A friend who spoke to Mr Kebede shortly after the tragic ordeal said the experience was 'tearing him apart' and that he was 'blaming himself even though there was nothing he could do.' [backcolor=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4)]
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Raised alarm: Behailu Kebede, a father of one, pictured, whose faulty fridge started the Grenfell Tower inferno and raised the alarm, a neighbour claims
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Faulty fridge: Mr Kebede, pictured, banged on his neighbour's door, potentially saving hundreds of lives – after flames took in the kitchen of his fourth floor flat
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Firefighters were still damping down the building today. It was deemed unsafe for them to enter until experts have assessed it
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The 27-storey Grenfell building, which was built in 1974 but refurbished last year, has an average of six flats per floor lived in by council tenants and a smaller number of private owners or tenants - fire had largely engulfed it in around 15 minutes
The friend told the Sun: 'He kept repeating it over and over again, ''people have lost their lives I can't bear it.'' Another said that Mr Kebede, described as a 'warm and gentle' person, was 'haunted' by the fire but was relieved that he had managed to warn his neighbours in time. His neighbour Maryann Adam, 41, who lived at number 14, told how Mr Kebede banged on her front door in the early hours of Wednesday to tell her that there was a fire in his kitchen. She said: 'He knocked on the door, and he said there was a fire in his flat. It was exactly 12.50am because I was sleeping and it woke me up. 'The fire was small in the kitchen. I could see it because the flat door was open. There was no alarm.'
Mr Kebede friend Eshete Meried said the 44-year-old taxi driver originally from Ethiopia, escaped the building - but was still in shock. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Mr Meried said: 'Behailu did raise the alarm, that is what I am hearing. 'He is fine but he is not in a position to talk about anything right now. I understand that he in a temporary shelter, staying with friends.' Another friend said Mr Kebede had spoken to police who are investigating the fire. Maryam left her phone with her belongings in her flat and has been unable to check on other residents. She later attended the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital after feeling dizzy, but was given the all-clear. Speaking today from emergency accommodation close to the scene of the disaster, Mr Kebede told of his distress at witnessing the very beginning of the inferno, which it is feared to claimed more than 100 lives. He told MailOnline: 'I am very upset'. Asked whether the fire started in his flat by MailOnline Mr Kebede replied: 'I'm busy, I'm busy. Goodbye.' RELATED ARTICLES
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A Scotland Yard spokesman said today: 'The investigation is ongoing.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4609268/Cabbie-faulty-fridge-started-inferno-devastated.html#ixzz4kAQWlKKg
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