Refer China: Hong Kong deadly fire death toll hits 128, status of 200 unclear

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Hong Kong's local media have described it as the city's most serious blaze in several decades — the fire at Wang Fu Court in Tai Po housing estate raged from Wednesday into Thursday, burning through almost the entire night. With the all-out rescue efforts of local authorities, the fire has been largely brought under control on Thursday.

According to official updates, the blaze has claimed at least 83 lives and 76 injuries as of 0:00 am on Friday.

The blaze, which started on Wednesday afternoon shortly after 2 pm, spread at a shocking speed, leaving the city in mourning.

Almost entire blocks of residential buildings were engulfed in flames, and some residents fortunate enough to escape had barely any time to react, witnessing their once homes consumed by fire and reduced to ruins.
During a press conference jointly held by the Hong Kong Security Bureau, Fire Services Department and the Hong Kong Police Force on Friday afternoon on the updates about the devastating five-alarm fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po housing estate, Secretary for Security Chris Tang revealed that preliminary investigations show that the external scaffolding nets and protective nets on the buildings engulfed in the fire met fire-resistance requirements, but the foam panels attached to the exterior windows were highly flammable.

All seven residential blocks of Wang Fuk Court engulfed by the fire were undergoing renovation before the incident, which raised public concern over whether the external scaffolding used in repair works posed safety risks.

The fire first broke out on the lower-level scaffolding of Wang Cheong Court, igniting the foam panels and causing the flames to spread upward rapidly, engulfing other buildings in Wang Fuk Court within a short period of time, Tang said during the press conference, according to local media reports.

Once the foam panels caught fire, the heat caused windows to shatter, allowing the blaze to spread into the flats and resulting in simultaneous fires both inside and outside the buildings, he said.

When asked by the media about online clips showing workers smoking around the scaffolding, which triggered questions over whether this could have caused the fire, Tang responded regarding the preliminary cause of the blaze that it is believed the fire started on the lower floors of Wang Cheong Court, then spread to the scaffolding and quickly ignited the foam panels outside the windows. The high heat caused the glass to shatter, allowing the fire to enter the interior, which led to rapid spread to other buildings.

The Fire Services Department found that the fire alarm system at Wang Fuk Court had failed to operate effectively during the incident and said the department would take enforcement action.

The fire caused at least 128 deaths as of Friday afternoon and 79 injuries, according to the press conference. Among 467 missing-person reports received, 200 individuals are still unaccounted for.

Due to the rapid spread of foam panels and the fire affecting other buildings, the glass shattered, causing the fire to intensify and spread indoors. A large area simultaneously caught fire, resulting in a disaster, Tang said at the press conference.

Meanwhile, the high temperatures caused bamboo scaffolding to burn, and broken bamboo poles fell, igniting other scaffolding and making firefighting difficult. The fire spread quickly, with high-rise scaffolding continuously collapsing, blocking emergency exits and building entrances, preventing firefighters from entering the building for rescue, Tang said, noting that this made it difficult for the fire truck's rotating steel ladder to reach the optimal operating position.

The high temperature at the scene caused some areas to reignite, forcing firefighters to repeatedly extinguish the flames, increasing the difficulty of their work, according to the press conference.
Tang said that the firefighting and rescue operations were essentially completed, and the goal was to quickly lower the temperature. Afterward, the Buildings Department would conduct inspections, and the police would collect evidence once safety was confirmed, according to local media reports.

Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Friday arrested two directors of an engineering consulting firm responsible for overseeing the maintenance work of Wang Fuk Court, a residential complex engulfed by a major fire since Wednesday afternoon, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The ICAC set up a task force on Thursday to launch an investigation into suspected corruption related to the maintenance project. The anti-graft body on Friday apprehended.

Fire Services Department Director Yeung Yan-kin said that after the five-alarm blaze at Wang Fuk Court, inspections revealed that the fire alarm systems in eight buildings were not functioning properly. The department has gathered evidence and will take enforcement action against the fire service equipment contractor, local media RTHK reported.

Yeung noted that when officers tested the alarm systems on site, there was no sound at all.

The Hong Kong police also arrested three men aged from 52 to 68 from the company in charge of the maintenance work of Wang Fuk Court, including two directors of the engineering company and one engineering consultant, according to the press conference on Friday.

Officers have seized 14 computers and a large quantity of documents as evidence. The three suspects remain in custody, and police are seeking urgent legal advice from the Department of Justice.

The HKSAR government attaches extreme importance to the fire incident and has prepared to conduct a comprehensive evidence-gathering investigation. Some buildings are expected to be safe enough for police to enter today after structural clearance, and the investigation is projected to take three to four weeks, according to the press conference on Friday.

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Editor: Crystal H

Refer China

Hong Kong deadly fire death toll hits 128, status of 200 unclear

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