This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A nine-year-old girl has given an emotional tribute to her young cousin Mehdi El Wahabi, with whom she regularly played on the landing of his 21st-storey Grenfell Tower flat before he died with his mother, father, brother and sister.

Wearing a bright sweatshirt and surrounded by members of her family, Sara Chebiouni told the inquiry into the disaster how eight-year-old Mehdi loved playing Minecraft and with Lego.



“It is difficult knowing that Mehdi will never be able to play with us ever again,” she said on Friday, becoming the youngest person to address the inquiry so far.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest The El Wahabi family (clockwise from top left): Father Abdulaziz, daughter Nur Huda, mother Faouzia, and sons Yasin and Mehdi. Photograph: Grenfell Tower inquiry/PA

Her contribution followed tributes to Mehdi’s brother, Yasin, 20, who studied accountancy at Greenwich University; his sister, Nur Huda, 15, who had just finished her GCSEs; and their parents, Abdulaziz, 52, and Faouzia, 42, who were born in Larache, Morocco.



Videos were also played, showing footage of their flat reduced to ashen rubble, the outline of a washing machine visible in one corner. The fifth day of the inquiry heard how the family had tried to escape down the stairwell but were forced back up, along with many others, by the dense smoke.

“We used to have so much fun,” Sara said. “The 21st floor was so much more fun and child-friendly than the ninth floor where I lived.”

She recalled the desk in Mehdi’s room being covered with toys, such as Furbys and fidget spinners, and his love for ice-cream, curry and couscous.

Mariam El Wahabi, 13, said of her cousin Nur Huda: “The indescribable pain I have felt since you left the world will never be taken away.

“When I first started school you showed me how much you cared by taking me to my classes even if it would mean you were late.”

Zak Chebiouni paid tribute to Yasin, describing him as an outgoing and community-minded young man who would help people carry their shopping. He had studied accountancy and was a football referee.

“He was loved by many and his contagious smile will always be etched in our minds and hearts,” Zak said.

The father, Abdulaziz, had been a hospital porter at University College hospital for 22 years and was known for his greetings of “morning guv’nor” or “morning darling”.

His younger brother Hamed described Abdulaziz as the “listener, supporter, the protector and the carer”, and recalled how their daily conversations went on so long that his phone would overheat.

“My big brother was a simple man who loved to travel and had a strong attachment to both his British and Moroccan identities,” Hamed said.

Hanan El Wahabi, the sister-in-law of the mother, Faouzia, said the 42-year-old was a mouthwatering baker and cook. She last baked on 13 June 2017 – fairy cakes for a family friend – just hours before the fire.

Earlier, the inquiry heard from Nenita Bunggay, a close friend of Ligaya Moore, 78, who also lived on the 21st floor. She cried as she recalled the last moments she had with her friend as they prepared food in her flat, Ligaya calmly scraping the flesh from an avocado.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ligaya Moore. Photograph: Nico Purificacion/PA

“She was not only my friend,” Bunggay said, “she was my mother, sister and everything.”

A film was shown about Nigeria-born Vincent Chiejina, 60, who lived on the 17th floor. He was remembered as a selfless person who spent a lot of time supporting other men aged over 50.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Vincent Chiejina. Photograph: Grenfell Tower inquiry/PA

Sabah Abdullah, the husband of Khadija Khalloufi, 52, with whom he lived on the 17th floor, recalled their 27 years of marriage. He showed a video of them decorating their flat and recalled how they tiled the floor together after getting frustrated with unreliable contractors.

Khadija Khalloufi. Photograph: Twitter

“The smile doesn’t leave her face,” he said of his wife, who was “very helpful to neighbours in need”.

“I lost part of me. That’s it,” he said. “I have nothing else to say.”

The family of Jessica Urbano Ramirez, 12, who lived on the 20th floor, showed a film of her bouncing on a trampoline, and then her funeral, with the mourners dressed in white.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jessica Urbano Ramirez. Photograph: Ana Ospina/PA

“My baby was daddy’s girl,” said her father, Ramiro Urbano. “She was the apple of my eye. There are no words to describe the feeling of emptiness inside us. It is only the people in the same circumstances as us that can understand this pain.”

He described constantly losing concentration during daily life as his thoughts turned to Jessica. Her remains were found on the 23rd floor.

