The process of identifying human remains found in an Oldham mill 10 weeks after a fire could take “weeks, if not months”, the Guardian has been told.
Debbie Abrahams, the MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, said the remains are “skeletal” and that it is not yet clear if they belong to one or more people.
The Guardian has also learned that the family of one of four Vietnamese men feared dead in the fire called a Catholic church in London to beg for help to find him. Father Anthony Nguyen Van Tri, an assistant chaplain at the Vietnamese Catholic Community in London, said the church was contacted by the family of a man who “hadn’t been heard from in almost three months”.
He said the family had heard about the fire, which ripped through a mill in Oldham on 7 May, and feared their relative may have perished in the blaze.
The church then contacted Greater Manchester police (GMP) to report the man missing. The force has received other reports of missing Vietnamese nationals, the Guardian understands.
On Saturday demolition workers bulldozing the remains of Bismarck House Mill discovered what GMP said were “human remains”.
“It will take weeks, if not months to identify them,” Abrahams said. The fire took four days to extinguish, and the charred remains have been exposed to the elements for 10 weeks.
The chaplain said the family would have to send hair or nail samples to help forensic experts carry out DNA matching. It is understood that all of the missing are men of adult age but it is not clear how long they have lived in the UK.
One line of inquiry is whether the fire took hold in an illegal cannabis factory operating underneath a legitimate tile shop.
The Vietnamese consulate is understood to have visited the scene of the fire on Monday after attending a meeting with GMP investigators. Detectives said they are “particularly interested in hearing from anyone who knows how the building was being used in the lead up to 7 May”.
A GMP spokesperson said the incident had been referred to the force’s Professional Standards Branch for review due to previous contact relating to the fire and missing persons.
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts said on Monday: “Victims and the bereaved are at the forefront of our investigations into deaths.
“As such, whilst work is ongoing to confirm the identity of the deceased, we are liaising with partner agencies to ensure potential family members in Vietnam are fully informed and supported.”
Speaking to media at the site on Monday, assistant chief fire officer for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, Leon Parkes, said: “When the fire service arrived at the scene they were met with a very serious fire, a well-developed fire, in the building.
“A decision was made at that time not to permit any firefighters into the building for two reasons – firstly, the fire was well developed and was continuing to grow and, secondly, there was some concern about the structural stability of the building.
“We fought the fire over four days from the outside before handing the premises over.
“These are the correct procedures that are followed in situations like this.”
