Grenfell woman who was feared dead and pictured on missing posters is alive after rescue from 18th floor by fireman

The fire as seen from Latimer Road.
Alex Lentati

A woman who appeared on missing persons posters after the Grenfell Tower fire is alive and was saved by a fireman, her family revealed today.

Friends of Fadumo Ahmed, 32, who lived on the 19th floor of the 24-storey block, feared the worst after hearing no news of her.

However, it emerged today that she was pulled unconscious from the upper floors of the tower by a fireman, who saved her life.

Ms Ahmed, a cleaner, was taken to hospital in a critical condition suffering from severe smoke inhalation, but she is now recovering.

Her mother today gave details of the rescue and revealed that she had a heartbreaking phone call with her daughter, who told her: “I can’t get out. Goodbye.”

The blaze broke out in the early hours of June 14.
EPA

Her mother had seen the fire at 1.10am last Wednesday and called her daughter at her flat, where she had been asleep.

During the next hour, Ms Ahmed, who could not get out of the building because of the severity of the blaze, climbed to higher floors with neighbours to get away from the heat and smoke.

At 2am, her family, who had been speaking to her by phone, lost contact with her. Her mother, who has asked not to be named, said: “In her last call to us she said, ‘I can’t come down any more. I can’t get down. I’m in God’s hands now. Pray for me. Goodbye.’ We all cried.”

About two hours later, as the family waited for news at the base of the tower, one of Ms Ahmed’s sisters saw the “incredible” sight of her being put into an ambulance.

In hospital, she told her family that she had collapsed on the fire escape on the 18th floor because of the thick smoke as she tried get out of the building. A fireman had found her unconscious and carried her down.

Her mother said: “He is a hero. He saved her life, it’s that simple. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have got out.

“We are just so happy she is okay. When we saw how bad the fire was and knew she was inside, it was terrible. We didn’t think anyone else could get out of there alive.”

Her family were with her in hospital, so were unaware that her friends had put her on the missing persons list.

The Met says that 79 people are dead, or missing and presumed dead.

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