A Thai woman who lived in Grenfell Tower in London spoke about about her near-death experience as her family made their escape from the blaze that spread across the 24-story apartment building yesterday and made worldwide news.
Waewta Supareuksanon, 62, shared an apartment on the tenth floor with four Thai family members. In an interview with BBC Thai, Waewta said she was watching TV when she heard noises from her neighbors and found out there was a fire at about 1am on Wednesday.
Waewta asked her sister to call 999, but the person at the end of line told the Thai family not to leave their apartment.
“I waited from 1am to 4am until the fire had spread all over the building. I thought that was it … I couldn’t wait anymore. So I opened the window and yelled out for help. I yelled [in English] ‘I can’t go out! I can’t go out!’ and waved a piece fabric for people to see. Firefighters came,” Waewta said.
“This is a lesson to me that I will never believe officials again. If an event like this occurs, I have to escape first,” she added.
Rescuers led her and her family to safety on the fire escape in the dark. The firefighters held hands with her family members until the five of them were safely outside.
“It was like a cave. It was completely dark. The firefighters wore masks, and we used towels to cover our noses and mouths. We couldn’t breathe. We vomited. My arm got a little burned, but I’m lucky to have survived,” she said.
Waewta, who lived in Grenfell Tower for 31 years, said the building had just been renovated before the fire, and she did not expect it to be in dangerous condition.
The latest death count was 12, with 34 people hospitalized and many more unaccounted for. The tower had around 120 apartment units and was home to as many as hundreds of people, according to BBC.
