U.K. funeral for Ethiopian boy, 5, who died in London tower inferno

A funeral has been held for one of the victims of the recent tower inferno at the Grenfell Tower in London.

Five-year-olf Isaac Paulos, was among eight British nationals with Ethiopian origin who died when an inferno engulfed the high rise residential apartment in London.

Prayers were said for the little boy in a church ceremony. The BBC shared photos that showed pall bearers carrying his coffin which had flowers placed on it. He is the only member of the family of four that perished in the blaze.

He lived with his parents on the 18th floor of the facility. Genet Shawo and Paulos Petakle are now left with their three-year-old son, Lukas, the BBC said.

The Ethiopian Embassy in the United Kingdom (UK) through its Twitter handle confirmed that there were a number of Ethiopians were among the casualties. ‘‘We can confirm that there are a number of Ethiopian-born citizens among the casualties,’‘ a June 15 statement read.

An updated statement issued a day later , provided details of some of the missing persons. Amongst them was Paulos, a mother and son Berikti and Biruk Habtom and Hashim Kidir, his wife and their three children.

The Ethiopian Ambassador to the UK, Hailemichael Aberra Afework visited families of the affected persons to offer the government’s support.

The Metropolitan Police reported that the Grenfell Tower Block incident claimed about 80 lives with over 20 others in hospital, a number of them in critical condition.

The 24-storey building in West London dates back to the 1970s and had recently been refurbished. The head of London’s fire service said in nearly 30 years of service, he’d never seen anything like this.

The estate in a multi-ethnic area of London forms a recognisable part of the capital’s skyline. As the fire tore upwards and sideways through the building, trapped residents could be seen desperately seeking help.

Photo credit: BBC Africa LIVE page