Milan mayor says cladding melted in tower block blaze, as in London's Grenfell

A large fire rips through a block of flats in Milan, Italy, August 29, 2021. Picture taken August 29, 2021. Vigili del Fuoco/Handout via REUTERS

MILAN (Reuters) - The mayor of Italy's financial capital Milan demanded answers on Monday over why a fire was able to rip through an apartment block and melt its cladding, comparing it to the Grenfell Tower fire in London that killed 71 people four years ago.

Firefighters said everyone managed to escape the 18 storey building in the south of Milan, which was gutted by the blaze that broke out on Sunday afternoon. Among the residents in the high rise building was rapper Mahmood, winner of the 2019 San Remo music festival with his international hit 'Soldi'.