Demolition workers came across human remains on Saturday, two days after police received reports that four Vietnamese men were missing and may have been involved in a fire. This was 10 weeks after the Bismarck House Mill fire, a fire so intense it took four days to put out. On Wednesday Greater Manchester Police said specialist teams had found more remains, suggesting a second victim. Det Supt Lewis Hughes said: “We are carrying out an extensive search of the remains of the mill to ensure that any other human remains are recovered in a way that is respectful to both the dead and the bereaved. In the meantime, our major incident team continues to liaise with partner agencies to ensure that potential family members in Vietnam are fully informed and supported. “Although we have now recovered human remains to indicate that at least two people were in the mill at the time of the fire, we are still aware of the report we received on Thursday 21 July 2022 that four Vietnamese nationals are missing and may be involved in a fire .” Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, said the process of identifying human remains could take “weeks, if not months”. The family of a Vietnamese man feared dead in the fire called a Catholic church in London to plead for help to find him. Father Anthony Nguyen Van Tri, assistant priest at the Vietnamese Catholic Community in London, said the church had contacted the family of a man who “had not been heard from for almost three months”. Hughes said “extensive inquiries” into the full circumstances of the fire were underway alongside search and recovery efforts. He said: “Any criminal offenses found as part of this will be dealt with promptly and appropriately. It is fundamental that those involved in this incident are provided with honest and accurate information at all times.” One line of inquiry is whether the fire took place in an illegal cannabis plant operating under a legal tile shop. Police said they wanted to hear from anyone concerned about a missing loved one or “who has information about the circumstances surrounding the fire, including activity at the premises prior to May 7”. The incident was referred to the force’s professional standards branch for review due to previous contacts regarding fire and missing persons.
