Grim procession as relatives desperately search for loved ones
The death toll is already higher than London’s Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, which killed 72 people. It will continue to increase in the coming days as more victims are identified.
Hong Kong authorities confirmed that fire alarm systems were inspected and found to be faulty and vowed to take action against those responsible. This is a finding consistent with survivors’ reports that no alarms were sounded as the fire spread through the complex.
By Friday morning, fire crews had largely extinguished the blaze that ripped through seven of the eight towers at the 2,000-unit housing complex in Tai Po’s northern district on Wednesday and raged for nearly two days.
As the temperature cooled, fire crews entered the smoldering ruins; flashlights illuminated the darkened, windowless units.
The search-and-rescue mission quickly focused on recovering the bodies, and media crews repositioned their cameras at the side entrance of the complex, where yellow vans were waiting to collect the body bags.
The public square near the towers has become a collection center for donations and a gathering point for survivors, where volunteers distribute food and water and members of the public drop off clothing, bedding and electronics.
Amid the grief, anger is also flaring among Hong Kongers as they debate whether the disaster, the deadliest fire to hit the city in decades, could have been prevented.
Their attention, and the government’s focus, has been on renovations to the towers, where bamboo scaffolding covered with green netting has been erected on the outside and flammable styrofoam has been used to protect windows.
The exact cause of the fire is not yet known. Hong Kong authorities have so far arrested three people linked to the construction company on suspicion of manslaughter and launched an investigation into whether the mesh and foam had an accelerating effect.
This fire is the realization of many people’s fears about Hong Kong’s cramped housing blocks, where thousands of residents live in cramped flats in vast high-rise towers.
Volunteers are helping distribute donated clothing to affected residents. Credit: Daniel Ceng
“I am angry and concerned about building safety in Hong Kong. We have many multi-storey buildings that are aging and need to be renovated,” says Ada, who asked to use only her first name.
His mother survived the fire, but there is no news of her brother’s girlfriend, who lives on the 26th floor of one of the towers. He said residents had made numerous complaints about the renovations.
“Everyone ignored them. If you want to carry out a major renovation program like the one in this complex, it needs to be managed properly,” he says.
Hong Kong’s Ministry of Labor confirmed the existence of the complaints in a statement to Bloomberg News, acknowledging that members of the public had raised concerns about “scaffolding-related issues” in September 2024. The department said it warned the company doing the renovations about fire hazards only a week ago.
Fire and rescue teams are responding to the fire.Credit: Daniel Ceng
But inspectors had “constantly monitored” the installation of the netting wrapped around the towers and found that the quality certification met official fire resistance standards, according to the statement.
While Wong searches for his mother, he also wants answers as to how this tragedy was allowed to happen.
“Why did the government ministry approve the use of this material outside the building?”
via Bloomberg
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