Hong Kong: death toll rises to 83 in massive fire
The flames allegedly spread through bamboo scaffolding mounted outside the buildings. Three men arrested
The inferno of fire that sent seven of the eight residential towers of Wang Fuk Court, in Hong Kong's Tai Po district, up in smoke, with the death toll rising hour by hour to 83 in the latest update, is now also the subject of an investigation into 'possible corruption in the major renovation work', while three arrests have been made.
A little more than 24 hours after the worst fire in Hong Kong since 1948 (when an explosion and flames killed 135 people), the latest evening bulletin put the number of confirmed dead at 83 and the number of injured at 70, including 10 firefighters, while several dozen people remain trapped inside the buildings. But rescue efforts gained new momentum after firefighters rescued a man on the stairs of the 16th floor of Wang Tao House, inside the complex.
A miracle, in local media reports. The heavy knot of almost 300 missing remains: each tower has 31 floors, with a total of 1,984 flats and 4,600 residents, according to a 2021 census, but it is not clear how many people were in the buildings when the fire broke out. While, according to reports from the Farnesina, there are no Italian citizens among the victims or injured. The police, meanwhile, arrested three men, aged between 52 and 68, in the early hours of Thursday: a technical consultant and two executives of a construction company on whom a manslaughter charge is pending. At a press conference in the early hours of the morning, Chief Superintendent Eileen Chung said the fire brigade suspected that, rather than the traditional bamboo scaffolding that remained largely in place, the protective netting, mesh and plastic sheeting placed on the buildings for the renovation work that started in 2024 did not meet fire safety requirements.
Chung added that officers found polystyrene panels on the outside of the lift entrance windows on each floor of the only building that escaped the fire. A protection to prevent debris from breaking the windows. "But everyone knows that expanded polystyrene is flammable material that can accelerate the spread of a fire," the superintendent noted, speaking of "gross negligence". The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) announced that it had launched an investigation into the Wang Fuk Court project and renovation works, wanting, by setting up a 'special task force', to clarify the possibility of 'possible corruption in major renovation works'. The move prompted the former colony's government to monitor ongoing operations in Hong Kong on plans to renovate and modernise the city's buildings. The seriousness of the affair led Governor John Lee to ensure that a thorough investigation was launched when the flames were out, with only three of the seven towers tamed. An independent committee of the Building Bureau would collect samples of building materials from Wang Fuk Court, added the governor, who announced a grant of HK$10,000 (just over €1,000) to all families affected by the tragedy, as a first step.
While a 200 million fund has been set up for more structured support. The tragedy led to the suspension of the election campaign for the renewal of the LegCo (Hong Kong's parliament) with only 'patriots', the candidates loyal to Beijing, running for the vote on 7 December. The city has mobilised in a great wave of solidarity, with volunteers distributing drinks, food and clothes, and with several large Chinese companies donating to the relief effort and affected families: Tencent, Xiaomi and ByteDance, for example, have each pledged a cheque for 10 million Hong Kong dollars. The Jack Ma Foundation, on the other hand, 60 million.
