Grenfell Tower fire: Six-month-old baby 'found dead in mother's arms'

A six-month-old baby was found dead in her mother's arms after the Grenfell Tower fire, an inquest has heard.

Leena Belkadi and her sister Malak Belkadi, eight, both died from inhalation of fire fumes, Westminster Coroner's Court was told.

Leena's was "found in her mother's arms" in a stairwell between the 19th and 20th floor of the building.

Malak was rescued from the 20th floor and died later at St Mary's Hospital, where her sister Taxmin, aged six, was also taken.

Their mother Farah Hamdan and father Omar Belkad also died in the blaze and inquests into their deaths have been opened and adjourned.

The family lived on the 20th floor of the high-rise building in west London.

Westminster coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox opened and adjourned the inquests of seven people including Leena and Malak on Wednesday.

Dr Wilcox presided over the inquest as the coroner's officer Eric Sword read out names of the seven victims. They were:

  • Mohammed Al Haji Ali, 23, was identified by fingerprints. His body was found outside on Testaments Walk. He died from multiple injuries consistent with falling from height.

  • Husna Begum, 22, was identified by dental records. She was found near the lift on the 17th floor. She died from the effects of fire.

  • Rabeya Begum, 64, was identified by dental records. She died inside Flat 2 on 17th floor from the effects of fire.

  • Leena Belkadi, was six-months-old and died in her mother's arms on the stairwell between 19 and 20th floor. She died from inhaling fire fumes.

  • Malek Belkadi, Leena's sister, was eight-years-old and identified by dental records. She was found on the 20th floor and taken to St Mary's Hospital but died later from the fire fumes.

  • Mohammed Amied Neda was 57. He was identified using dental records and died from multiple injuries consistent with falling from height.

  • Abdeslam Sebbar was 77. He was identified by DNA and was found inside Flat 1 on the 11th floor. He died from the inhalation of fire fumes.

Mohammed Al Haj Ali's funeral was held a week after the disaster and was attended by his family, some who had travelled from Syria, and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

A family statement read at the service said he "loved London and loved the people he met here", and had begun pursuing his dream of studying engineering."

Earlier police confirmed that the death toll had rise "to around 80".