An commendable act of generosity has emerged today from Newcastle’s very own Yasin El-Mhanni, having admitted that he ran to the Grenfell Tower to help those who lost everything in the horrific fire that claimed 80 lives earlier this month.
The 21-year-old Newcastle winger was visiting his parents in west London on the night of the blaze and having grown up in the area and knowing people living in the block, he raced to the scene to offer his help to the victims.
It has been revealed by Sky news this morning that he then scrambled to gather donations when he arrived at the scene, collecting water, food and clothing for survivors as they were evacuated.
El-Mhanni said the following to Sky news when opening up about his experience this morning:
‘I was very emotional to be there and see something like that happen,’
‘That’s not normal. You just don’t see that. You never think or imagine you would see anything like that happen.
‘Me and a few boys were helping buy food and water. We brought over a lot of clothes to give to the people who were affected because they lost everything in that building. Whatever they left that building with is what they have left.’
‘I was in and around that block all the time,’
‘You can’t take that picture out of your mind. It’s heartbreaking.’
‘I knew some people in there. Because it’s the Moroccan community, whenever I go to the mosque you are always bumping into people who live in that tower.’
‘To know something like that has happened is just crazy. To see it is just crazy. You don’t know if it’s real or not.’
‘It’s not normal so people aren’t going to get over it overnight. I know everybody’s distraught and sad. People have lost their parents, lost their kids. A lot of lives have been lost,’
Hats off to Yasin – an admirable effort amongst the chaos of yet another tragedy in the capital.
