Grenfell Tower: House of Cards fans say BBC series 'predicted' tragedy 25 years ago
The episode focused on a tower block blaze which killed 72
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Your support makes all the difference.BBC series House of Cards - the inspiration behind Netflix's TV show of the same name - featured a storyline that bears striking similarities to the Grenfell Tower fire which has left 79 people presumed dead.
Following the deadly incident on 15 June, Vimeo user Al-Jazz has highlighted an episode of the political drama featuring a gas explosion that ended up killing 72 residents of a run-down tower block in Newham. It originally aired in 1993 as part of the series' second part 'To Play the King.'
One part of the episode shows a newspaper headline reading: "Government policy blamed as 70 dies in tower block disaster."
The episode also features a scene where character Chloe Carmichael talks about the fire's victims, saying: “These are people that have been left to rot, the people who couldn't afford to buy their council flats, people who couldn't afford to buy the gas bill.
She describes the building as "...a disaster waiting to happen.”
Another moment shows the Prime Minster accused of “[looking] on unmoved” mirroring reports on PM Theresa May's visit to the tragedy's site last week while an eerie similarity reveals the fictional fire broke out on the fourth floor - the same as Grenfell Tower's.
You can watch the full clip below.
The government has been criticised in the wake of the deadly blaze which tore through the Kensington tower block last week with emerging reports revealing the 24-storey building wasn't equipped with the safety precautions required to prevent such an event despite a residents' association warning the council about fire safety issues.
The video was uploaded with the simple caption: “I am simply struck by how a 25-year old show can so closely resemble today's reality, with seemingly so few of the issues having been addressed in the interim.”
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