The death toll from Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades rose to 128 on Friday as firefighters searched a smoldering high-rise apartment complex and authorities canceled “non-essential” activities to focus on the tragedy.
Hopes of finding survivors have diminished, with many residents of the densely populated Wang Phuc Court apartment towers still missing. Hong Kong Security Secretary Chris Tang announced the latest deaths on Friday, saying about 200 people were missing and the government expected to find more bodies. More than 70 other people were hospitalized, some of whom are in critical condition.
The government said the victims included a 37-year-old firefighter, Ho Wai-ho, a nine-year veteran, who collapsed at the scene of the fire and later died in a hospital.
Firefighters were still pouring water on parts of the complex on Friday to extinguish the embers. Smoke could be seen billowing from the burnt buildings, which were surrounded by bamboo scaffolding in various states of disrepair.
“Our firefighting operation is almost complete,” fire department deputy director Derek Armstrong Chan told reporters.
Family members searching for their missing loved ones gathered at a nearby community center where they were shown photographs of the victims, many of whom had been identified. Others stood outside housing complexes in the northern district of Tai Po, anxiously awaiting news of missing loved ones.
The massive fire broke out in one of the 32-storey buildings of the complex on Wednesday afternoon and soon engulfed six other towers. Investigators said there were initial indications that substandard flammable construction mesh was used to cover the buildings, which were undergoing renovation. He also said that it appeared that combustible polystyrene foam had been used to cover the windows to prevent damage.
Two directors and a consultant associated with a construction company that installs construction materials were arrested on Thursday. Police said they are being investigated on charges of murder and gross negligence.
Officials said they were inspecting 11 other private residential building projects where the company was working.
The disaster has stunned Hong Kong residents, where living in high-rise buildings and the sight of construction sites covered in green nets and bamboo are part of everyday life. Many people have helped by raising relief funds and volunteering to distribute donated items to those left homeless by the fire.
Pressure is likely to increase on the government to explain why the fire could not be stopped. The disaster comes at a politically sensitive time for the local government, which was elected by China but is determined to show that it is in charge of running the city. Despite freedoms lost after China imposed national security laws in 2020, Hong Kong is still semi-autonomous, and next month it will hold elections – devoid of opposition parties – for only the second time since then.
Late Thursday, the government said in a statement it would cancel “non-essential public activities” to devote time and resources to helping victims of the fire and their families. It also said it would inspect all sites in the city where external wall construction or renovation work involving scaffolding and protective netting is currently underway.
The approximately 500 residents of Wang Phuc Court are currently spread across nine temporary housing shelters. The government said it would provide a subsidy of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars or $1,284 to affected families and set up a separate fund of 300 million Hong Kong dollars or $38 million “to assist residents and support all relevant operations”.
The government also said it may accelerate the phasing out of bamboo scaffolding in favor of fire-resistant metal scaffolding. So far, officials have not indicated whether bamboo played a major role in the rapid spread of the fire on Wednesday.
It was the worst fire in Hong Kong since 1948, when a warehouse fire killed nearly 200 people. That fire occurred when the city was still a British colony.
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