Firefighters Search for Survivors After Deadly Hong Kong Blaze
On Friday, firefighters in Hong Kong meticulously searched through an apartment complex in a desperate effort to locate survivors after a devastating fire ravaged seven of the eight buildings, claiming at least 94 lives in one of the city’s most catastrophic incidents.
Derek Armstrong Chan, the Deputy Director-General of the Hong Kong Fire Department, informed reporters that the priority was on apartments that had received over 20 emergency calls during the blaze and were unresponsive.
“Our firefighting efforts are almost complete,” he stated.
The fire erupted on Wednesday afternoon in one of the towers at Wangfu Court. The blaze was reportedly sparked by bamboo scaffolding covered with mesh, which was used for renovation and caught fire, resulting in the destruction of multiple buildings.
It took over 1,000 firefighters nearly 24 hours to bring the five-alarm fire under control, but even two days later, smoke continued to rise from the charred remains of the structure, marked by sporadic explosions.
A final search of the site is anticipated to be concluded late Friday, at which point authorities will officially cease the rescue operations in the Tai Po district, located near Hong Kong’s border with mainland China.
The number of potential victims inside the complex remains uncertain, as it features around 2,000 apartments housing approximately 4,800 residents.
John Lee, Hong Kong’s leader, revealed that contact had not been established with 279 residents as of early Thursday.
“We will attempt to gain access to all sections of the seven blocks to ensure no other casualties remain,” Chan explained.
He added that it was challenging to get an accurate count of missing individuals until the search and rescue missions were fully completed.
There had been a total of 25 unanswered emergency calls, primarily from upper floors where the fire was eventually extinguished.
Injuries from the fire exceeded 70 people, including 11 firefighters, and around 900 individuals were evacuated to temporary shelters.
Most casualties were reported in the two buildings where the fire initially began, according to Chan. The complex, built in the 1980s, housed many elderly residents and had been undergoing significant renovations.
The city’s anti-corruption authorities announced on Thursday that they were probing potential corruption linked to the renovation project.
Three men, including a construction company director and an engineering consultant, were arrested under suspicions of manslaughter. Authorities suggested company executives might have shown gross negligence.
While the specific company hasn’t been named, the Associated Press confirmed that Prestige Construction and Engineering Company was responsible for the renovation. A box of documents was confiscated from the company following an ongoing phone inquiry.
Investigations suggest that some materials used on the building’s exterior did not meet fire-resistance standards, contributing to the rapid spread of the fire.
Additionally, it was reported that highly flammable foam plastic panels were found near elevator lobbies in an unaffected tower, raising concerns. Their installation details, presumably by a construction company, remain ambiguous.
Authorities announced plans for immediate inspections of residential complexes undergoing major renovations to ensure compliance with safety regulations.
This fire is deemed the deadliest in Hong Kong for decades; the previous record was set in 1996 when a commercial building fire in Kowloon resulted in 41 fatalities.
