The police have apologised after the bone
fragment of a Grenfell fire victim was found in a washing machine when
officers sent his clothes for cleaning.
Mohamed Saber Neda - who jumped from the West London
tower block - was laid to rest by grieving relatives after leaving a
heartbreaking voicemail seconds before, saying: 'Goodbye, I am leaving
this world, goodbye. I hope you forgive me. Goodbye everyone.'
But
his family has told how they have had to bury him for the second time
after a phone call from
police revealed bone fragment belonging to Mr
Neda had been found by cleaners as the Met prepared to return the washed
clothes to wife Flora Neda.
Mohamed Saber Neda, pictured, jumped to his death from the burning tower in West London
Mrs
Neda tonight told Channel 4 News about the last time she saw her
husband, who stayed behind to help neighbours while she and her son
Farhad became the only residents to make it out of the 23rd floor – the
very top of the tower in Kensington.
'When
we escaped it was last minute, the fire was all around the building he
told me "I'm behind you, I'm behind you",' she said.
'I
call him 'are you there' and he didn't answer me. I told my son he's
not behind me can we go back. He said "he is behind us and he is coming,
I'm sure he is coming".
Flora Neda, right, is comforted by her sister as she is forced to hold a
second funeral for her husband, who jumped from the burning building to
his death
But Mr Neda became trapped, in the inferno
and Mrs Neda says he made the brave decision to jump before leaving her
a voicemail without a trace of fear in his voice.
She
said this latest revelation unearthed wounds that were only just
starting to heal as she was forced to hold another funeral in order to
bury the recovered bone in the same grave.
'After six months, they start cleaning, they found one piece of his bone in the washing machine,' she said.
Afghan migrant minicab driver Mohamed 'Saber' Neda, 57, with his wife Flora Nada, 45, and son Farhad, 24
'I’m angry with that. We
are angry. Why didn’t they check proper? Why did it take so long? Even
the police aren’t getting the answer for me. They tell the truth for us,
I think it is respectful but we are angry because why they didn’t check
first time and they didn’t tell us?
'This
time is more difficult from the first time, it is more difficult, we
did again. The ceremony… reburied, everything. And I told my son now we
have to accept your dad is not coming anymore.'
Controversy has long raged over the death toll of the Grenfell fire and how police handled the scene.
The bone fragment was placed in Mohamed's grave at a second funeral after it was found in a washing machine
Officers say it is among the most complex
investigations they’ve ever dealt with and that they’ve put families of
the dead at the heart of it.
But Flora
and her family’s traumatic experience, once again raises questions about
how victims were recovered. She can’t understand how a fragment of her
husband’s body was found in a washing machine, when police sent his
clothes for cleaning.
'I’m sorry, it’s
the first time it has happened for us as well but I’m sorry to tell you
we don’t know about that ... how this happened,' she said.
Tonight in a Channel 4 News interview the family shared their pain at
having to hold a second funeral to place the bone with the rest of the
body
Mohamed Saber Neda died after jumping from Grenfell tower and left a heartbreaking voicemail to be broadcast tonight
Tributes to the late Mohamed Neda are pictured at the second funeral his
family held when bone fragment was found in a washing machine
The Metropolitan Police
said an external cleaning company discovered the bone and the
post-mortem did not identify any part of his body was missing.
They said they have apologized to the family and fully explained the process to them.
A
spokeswoman said: 'Mr Neda's clothing was sent to an external company
for professional cleaning of each item prior to their return to his
family.
'Each person's items are cleaned within an isolated environment so no cross-contamination can occur.
'It was during this process that a small fragment of bone was discovered.
'Applying
the same rigorous identification regime used throughout this operation
the fragment was confirmed as originating from Mr Neda.'
She
added: 'At no stage during the post-mortem was it identified that there
was a possibility any part of his body was missing.'
In
the interview - broadcast tonight - Flora told Channel 4 News that she
takes comfort in the fact that her husband spent his last moments trying
to assist his neighbors.
'I’m proud of him, he helped people and he died because he wanted to help more people,' she said.
His wife said she has only just found the strength to listen to it herself.
She
asked Channel 4 News to broadcast Mr Neda's final voicemail because she
is so proud of his bravery and believes it demonstrates his courage,
even when faced with the worst possible choice.
DAILY MAIL
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