Hong Kong fire kills 55, hundreds missing as police blame construction company

• Several high-rise residential towers were engulfed in flames.
• Firefighters are trying to reach residents who may be trapped.
• Authorities say foam, scaffolding grids may have contributed.

HONG KONG: A massive fire still burning in a Hong Kong apartment complex that has killed at least 55 people and left nearly 300 missing may have been caused by a “grossly negligent” construction company using hazardous materials, police said Thursday.

Almost a full day after the fire started, firefighters were still trying to reach residents who may have been trapped in the upper floors of the Wang Fuk Court housing complex due to the intense heat and thick smoke from the fire that broke out on Wednesday afternoon.

The tightly packed complex in the northern district of Tai Po has 2,000 apartments in eight blocks housing more than 4,600 people in a city struggling with chronic shortages of affordable housing.

“We bought in this building more than 20 years ago. All our belongings were in this building, and now that it’s all burned down like this, what’s left?” asked a 51-year-old resident surnamed Wan.

“There is nothing left. What shall we do?”

A woman surnamed Ng, 52, was distraught as she searched for her daughter outside a shelter.

“She and her father haven’t gotten out yet. They didn’t have water to save our building,” she sobbed, holding up her daughter’s graduation photo.

Video from the scene showed flames shooting from at least two of the 32-story towers covered in green structural mesh and bamboo scaffolding.

The fire was still burning Thursday afternoon, more than 24 hours after it started. Authorities said they had the fire under control in four of the seven blocks, with operations continuing in three.

Bamboo scaffolding is a mainstay of traditional Chinese architecture, but has been phased out in Hong Kong since March for safety reasons.

Three were arrested

Police officers searched the apartment complex’s building maintenance company on Thursday morning, seizing documents citing Wang Fook’s court case, local media reported.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We have reason to believe that the company’s officials were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in heavy losses,” said Eileen Chung, chief of Hong Kong’s police.

Three men from the construction company, two managers and a consultant engineer, were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over the fire, he added.

Police said that in addition to the buildings being covered with protective mesh sheets and plastic that may not meet fire standards, they discovered that some windows in an unaffected building were sealed with foam, installed by a construction company performing a year’s worth of maintenance work.

A firefighter was among the 55 dead and dozens are in critical condition, Hong Kong authorities said Thursday afternoon. About 279 people remain unaccounted for.

Chung said 900 residents were spread across eight shelters.

Indonesia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that two Indonesian migrant workers “in the domestic sector” died in the fire and two others were injured.

The death toll is now the highest in a fire in Hong Kong since 1948, when 176 people were killed in a warehouse fire.

“The priority is to put out the fire and rescue the residents who are trapped,” Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency said it had launched an investigation into suspected corruption related to the renovation. Lee told reporters. “The second is to support the injured. The third is to support and recover. Then we will begin a thorough investigation.”

Search relatives

Harry Chung, 66, who has lived in Block Two in one of the complexes for more than 40 years, said he heard a loud noise at about 14:45 (0645 GMT) and saw fire breaking out in a nearby block.

“I went right back to pack,” he said.

“I don’t even know how I feel right now. I’m just thinking about where I’m going to sleep tonight.”

Another longtime resident, a woman surnamed Chu, said she was still unable to contact her friends who live next door. After staying with a friend on Wednesday night, the 70-year-old returned to find her home still burning.

“We don’t know what to do,” he said.

An online application displayed missing persons reports submitted through a linked Google Doc, detailing the occupants of individual towers and rooms.

It includes descriptions like “mother-in-law in her 70s, missing” or “a boy and a girl” or “Rooftop: 33-year-old man”.

A description simply says “27th floor, room 1: He’s dead.” Reuters was unable to independently verify the information in the app.

The fire has drawn comparisons to the Grenfell Tower inferno that killed 72 people in London in 2017. The blaze was blamed on companies outfitting the exterior with flammable cladding, as well as government and construction industry failures.

“Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the horrific fire in Hong Kong,” Grenfell United survivors’ group said on social media. “To the families, friends and communities, we stand with you. You are not alone.”

China’s Xi urges “all-out” effort against wildfire

Many residents took to social media to criticize what they saw as negligence and cost-cutting as the cause of the fire.

A video showed several construction workers smoking on bamboo scaffolding surrounding one of the complex’s blocks during the renovation process.

From the mainland, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged an “all-out effort” to put out the fire and minimize casualties and damage, according to China’s state television. CCTV he said.

Hong Kong’s Department of Transport said some roads would remain closed in the area on Thursday morning, and 39 bus routes were diverted, while nearby schools were closed.

Wang Fuk Court is one of several high-rise residential complexes in Hong Kong, one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Tai Po, located near the border with mainland China, is an established suburban area with about 300,000 residents.

The complex, occupied since 1983, is subject to the government’s subsidized home ownership scheme, according to estate agency websites. According to online postings, it has been under renovation for a year at a cost of HK$330 million ($42.43 million), with each unit paying between HK$160,000 and HK$180,000.

Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog said it has launched an investigation into suspected corruption related to the renovation.