Hong Kong High-Rise Fire That Killed 55 Burns For Second Day
HONG KONG (AP) – The death toll from a massive fire at a Hong Kong apartment complex has risen to 55, authorities said Thursday.
Stating that 51 people were found dead at the scene, the authorities said that the death toll increased to 55 with the other 4 people hospitalized.
According to the city’s Hospital Authority, more than 70 people were injured, most of whom suffered burns and respiratory injuries.
Firefighters were still struggling with one of them. Hong Kong’s deadliest modern fires On the second day, we struggled to control the fire, which darkened many high towers. Firefighters said the operation could last until at least Thursday evening.
Thick smoke was still billowing from the Wang Fuk Court complex in the northern suburb of Tai Po district, near the mainland border, at noon on Thursday. The fire started Wednesday afternoon and spread to seven of the complex’s eight buildings, with four of the towers under control by morning, the city’s fire department said.
A firefighter was among those confirmed dead, officials said.
Local resident Lawrence Lee was waiting for news about his wife, who was still trapped in their apartment.
“When the fire started, I told him on the phone to run away. But when he left the apartment, the corridor and stairs were filled with smoke and everything was dark, so he had no choice but to go back to the apartment,” he said while waiting in one of the shelters overnight.
Winter and Sandy Chung, who live in one of the towers, said they saw sparks flying around as they were being evacuated Wednesday afternoon. Even though they were safe, they were worried about their homes. “I couldn’t sleep all night,” Winter Chung, 75, told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Three people, managers of a construction company and an engineering consultant, were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Police did not directly name the company they worked for.
“We have reason to believe that those responsible for the construction company were grossly negligent,” senior police chief Eileen Chung said.
On Thursday, police also searched the office of Prestige Construction and Engineering Company, which the AP confirmed was responsible for renovations at the tower complex. According to local media reports, police seized the documents in the boxes as evidence. Prestige’s phones rang unanswered.
Authorities suspected that some materials on the exterior walls of high-rise buildings did not meet fire resistance standards, causing the fire to spread unusually quickly.
Police also said they found highly flammable Styrofoam installed in the windows of every floor near the elevator lobby of the only unaffected tower. It was thought to have been established by a construction company, but its purpose was unclear. Security Minister Chris Tang said they would investigate the materials further.
The fire started in the exterior scaffolding of a 32-story tower, then hit bamboo scaffolding and construction netting, spreading inside the building and then to other buildings, possibly aided by windy conditions. Fire crews sprayed water on intense flames from the top of ladder trucks, but conditions remained challenging to fight the fire and save people.
The residential complex consisted of eight buildings There are about 2,000 apartments for about 4,800 residents, including many elderly people. It was built in the 1980s and is undergoing major renovations.
About 900 people were evacuated to temporary shelters overnight, and Hong Kong leader John Lee said contact was lost with 279 people around midnight. Rescue efforts were continuing, but no updated figures were available by midday Thursday.
Authorities will carry out urgent inspections of all housing estates undergoing major renovations in the city to ensure scaffolding and construction materials meet safety standards, Lee said separately on Thursday.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping He expressed his condolences to the deceased firefighter and offered condolences to the families of the victims, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also called for efforts to minimize loss of life and property.
The fire was the deadliest fire in Hong Kong in decades. In November 1996, 41 people lost their lives in a fire that lasted approximately 20 hours in a commercial building in Kowloon.
Wu reported from Bangkok. Researcher Shihuan Chen in Beijing contributed to this report.
