The loss of life toll rose to 159 on Wednesday after police completed looking all seven of the high-rise towers that had been engulfed in flames that took 40 hours to place out, officers stated.
The blaze elicited grief, anger and worry within the densely packed metropolis of seven.5 million folks, which returned to China from British colonial rule in 1997.
“This case, I believe, goes to the very core of Hong Kong,” stated John Burns, an emeritus professor of politics and public administration on the College of Hong Kong. “And one motive is as a result of all of us reside in buildings identical to that. This might occur to any one among us.”
Officers have been conducting inspections at development websites across the metropolis and stated Wednesday that mesh netting can be faraway from 200 buildings by Saturday.
For Beijing, the fireplace dangers changing into “a nationwide safety menace, a menace to stability, and in order that’s why they’ve taken the motion that they did,” Burns stated.
The Hong Kong authorities issued its personal warning on Wednesday in opposition to unnamed “anti-China and destabilizing forces,” accusing them of spreading misinformation and “distributing seditious pamphlets.”
A spokesperson stated that “any malicious smearing” geared toward authorities or rescue personnel wouldn’t be tolerated, “specifically prison acts which can be supposed to incite hatred in opposition to the federal government.”
Wang Fuk Courtroom was house to about 4,600 folks, a few third of them over age 65. Those that had been killed ranged in age from 1 to 97, officers stated.
Residents of the one tower that was not affected had been briefly allowed to return to their properties on Wednesday and Thursday to pack their belongings whereas the investigation continues.
John Lee, Hong Kong’s high chief, stated Tuesday that an unbiased committee led by a decide would examine the reason for the fireplace and that these accountable can be held accountable “no matter who she or he is.”
He stated the investigation would study “problems with corruption, bid-rigging and irregular tendering in constructing upkeep tasks,” in addition to the set up and operation of fireplace security techniques, and that the outcomes can be made public.
“We’ll reform the entire constructing renovation system to make sure that such issues won’t occur once more,” Lee advised reporters.
A separate investigation is already underway by town’s anti-corruption physique.
Fifteen folks from varied development firms have been arrested up to now on suspicion of manslaughter. This week, police additionally arrested six folks from a registered fireplace service set up contractor on suspicion of fraud.
Lee didn’t deal with experiences that at the least three folks have been arrested by the nationwide safety police for the reason that weekend over their criticism of the federal government, however he stated he wouldn’t tolerate any crimes that “exploit the tragedy.”
Kenneth Cheung, a former district councilor who was arrested after publicly criticizing the fireplace response, stated in a social media put up Monday that he had been launched on bail pending an investigation. He stated in a separate put up Tuesday that he couldn’t say extra “as there’s a gag order concerning the nationwide safety case.”
The 2 others reportedly arrested for alleged sedition had been Miles Kwan, a college scholar who created a web based petition calling for an unbiased investigation into the fireplace, and an unidentified volunteer who was handing out provides to fireplace victims. Kwan was seen leaving a police station on Monday.
Hong Kong police didn’t immediately remark when requested in regards to the reported sedition arrests.
A yr of complaints
Residents of Wang Fuk Courtroom had complained for greater than a yr that the renovations posed fireplace hazards, however their issues had been dismissed.
The Labor Division stated it had carried out 16 investigations of the property since renovations started in July 2024. Throughout that point the division issued six notices and initiated three prosecutions, it stated in a press release, which didn’t present particulars.
Throughout the newest inspection on Nov. 20, lower than every week earlier than the fireplace, the division once more warned the contractor to take acceptable fireplace prevention measures, although it stated it didn’t discover any points warranting prosecution.
Hong Kong noticed a three-day official mourning interval from Saturday to Monday, with 18 areas arrange throughout town for mourners to signal condolence books.
In Tai Po, the air round Wang Fuk Courtroom nonetheless bore a charred odor on Monday, 5 days after the fireplace. Regardless of the lots of of individuals gathered round a de facto memorial, a silence hung within the air, damaged solely by the sound of birds chirping because the solar set.
Mourners, a lot of them teary-eyed, gently laid white lilies in a circle in a grassy space that had as soon as been a sitting-out space for the property’s residents.
“There may be this spirit of serving to each other and watching out for one another,” stated Hebbe Chan, a 20-year-old college scholar who had come to pay her respects.
“Solely after I got here to the scene at present did I begin to really feel a sort of unhappiness, to really feel that this hearth has actually taken away so, a lot,” she stated.
