The scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London. Photo / AP
The scorched facade of the Grenfell Tower in London. Photo / AP
Fitting fireproof cladding to the London tower that became engulfed in flames would have cost just $3 more per panel than the cladding used, it has been claimed.
It has also emerged that the panels fitted during a controversial refurbishment of Grenfell Tower had been outlawed in the US for similar buildings, news.com.au reported.
The number of dead at the blaze in north Kensington now stands at 17 but there are fears for another 100 people who were in the tower at the time.
Experts have zeroed in on the exterior cladding. Photo / Supplied
At least six people are believed to have jumped to their deaths rather than remain in the burning building.
Experts have zeroed in on the exterior cladding of the Grenfell Tower in west London as one of the possible reasons why the fire spread so quickly and ferociously.
Investigations as to the cause of the tragedy are focusing on a £9 million ($15 million) refurbishment last year when the colourful plastic and foam panels, used for decoration and insulation, were fitted by development and maintenance company Rydon.
The refurbishment was carried out on behalf of Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) which has managed all of the public housing owned by Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council since 1996.
On Friday, The Times of London reported that spending just another $8000 would have seen the entire tower fitted out with fire resistant cladding.
Several skyscraper fires have been blamed on flammable cladding including in the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, France and Australia.
Substandard and illegal cladding on Melbourne's Lacrosse tower was blamed for a fire in 2014 which shot up 13 floors in just minutes.
First pictures inside the Grenfell Tower in London following the fire. Photo / AP
Hundreds of panels, known as Reynobond, were fitted to the outside of the Grenfell Tower by a company called Harley Facades. This firm's owners have gone to ground following the incident.
Three versions of the Reynobond aluminium panels are produced. Two have fire resistant cores - the third has a flammable plastic core. It is thought the cheaper version, with the plastic sandwiched between metal panels, was used in the Grenfell building.
A salesman for US-based Reynobond told The Times that the panels with the polyethylene (PE) core had been banned in the US for buildings higher than 12 metres.
"It's because of the fire and smoke spread. The FR [variant] is fire resistant, the PE [is just plastic]."
The polyethylene panelling sells for £22 ($37) per square metre. The fire resistant panel retails for $24 ($40), just $3 more.
"A rough calculation suggest panels covered more than 2000 square metres on Grenfell, meaning contractors could have acquired the fire resistant version for less than £5000 ($8500) extra," The Times reported.
The panels were compliant with UK regulations.
A woman touches a missing poster for 12-year-old Jessica Urbano on a tribute wall. Photo / AP
On Thursday, UK based fire safety engineer Geoff Wilkinson told ABC RN that cladding fires were nothing new.
"We've seen in the past fires spread up the gap between the external cladding panel and original face of building effectively making a chimney which draws fire up at a higher rate."
An investigation by the CSIRO into the Lacrosse Tower cladding had to be abandoned after only 93 seconds because the material was so flammable it could have damaged their equipment.
It has also emerged that the four most senior staff at the KCTMO, who managed the tower, were potentially paid in excess of $1 million annually.
According to The Times, the not-for-profit paid its "key management personnel" £650,794 ($1,094,456) in 2015-16.
The company has not confirmed how many of its staff are "key". However, only four senior executives are listed in its accounts.
Shared among four people, their individual salaries would be £163,000 ($274,000) each. British Prime Minister Theresa May's annual salary is less than that at £142,500.
Firefighters survey the damage to the fire-gutted Grenfell Tower in London. Photo / AP
A rally through Westminster, in the heart of London, is planned for Friday night. Called 'Justice for Grenfell' it will call for answers as to how so many became trapped in the housing commission block.
May, who has faced criticism for failing to meet survivors when she visited the scene on Thursday, has announced a public inquiry will be held into the tragedy.
Many people remain unaccounted and officials have said they expect the death toll to rise significantly.
Asked if the final figure would be double or triple digits, Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy said, "I'd like to hope that it isn't going to be triple figures."
An angry crowd confronted London mayor Sadiq Khan as he visited the high-rise, despite the Greater London Authority, which he heads, having no responsibility for social housing. "How many children died? What are you going to do about it?" Kai Ramos, 7, asked.
One of the first victims was identified - as Mohammed Alhaj Ali, a 23-year-old Syrian refugee studying in London, reported AP.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, centre, arrives at Grenfield Tower in London. Photo / AP
"The flames are in the living room. There are flames around us," Trevisan told her mother in a farewell phone call, family lawyer Maria Cristina Sandrin said.
The government has ordered checks at towers going through similar renovations and some London authorities said they would do extra fire-safety assessments at public housing high-rises.
More than £1 million ($1.7 million) has been raised to help victims of the fire.
