Hong Kong police have alleged unsafe scaffolding and foam materials used during maintenance work may have been behind the rapid spread of a devastating fire at a group of residential tower blocks that has killed at least 55 people and left more than 250 missing.
Firefighters were still battling to reach residents who may be trapped on the upper floors of the Wang Fuk Court housing complex on Thursday due to the intense heat and thick smoke generated by the fire.
Authorities said the death toll had reached 55, with 45 people in hospital in critical condition, making it the deadliest Hong Kong fire in decades.
Fire service officials told a news conference that 51 died at the scene, while four died in hospital. They added that blazes in four of the eight apartment blocks in the estate had been extinguished and that three fires were under control. One building was not affected.
Hong Kong’s chief executive, John Lee, said in the early hours of Thursday that 279 were unaccounted for, though firefighters said later that they had established contact with some of those people. Authorities have not updated the figure since. Lee said more than 900 people sought refuge at temporary shelters overnight.
Loop of Hong Kong fire
Eileen Chung, a Hong Kong police superintendent, alleged: “We have reason to believe that the company’s responsible parties were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties.”
Three men from the construction company, two directors and one engineering consultant, had been arrested, Chung added, without giving further details.
Chung did not name the company but police later on Thursday searched the office of Prestige Construction and Engineering Company. Police seized boxes of documents as evidence, according to local media.
Separately, the government identified the registered contractor for the building complex as Prestige Construction and Engineering Company. Noting the requirement for use of fire-retardant netting and screens on scaffolding, its said in a statement: “If any violations of the requirements of the Buildings Ordinance are found, the case will be referred to the BD [Buildings Department] for handling in accordance with the ordinance, including prosecution or disciplinary proceedings.”
Phones for Prestige rang unanswered, according to the Associated Press.
The Tai Po district is made up of eight 31-storey towers containing about 2,000 flats, which house about 4,800 people. The site was undergoing renovation work at the time.
Image of Wang Fuk Court residential complex
Police alleged the buildings were covered with protective mesh sheets and plastic that may not meet fire standards, and discovered some windows on one unaffected building were sealed with a foam material, installed by a construction company carrying out maintenance work.
The fire is though to have spread on bamboo scaffolding around the building, and was likely aided by windy conditions. Bamboo scaffolding is a ubiquitous sight across Hong Kong building sites, though the government has said it was being phased out for safety reasons.
The fire at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district. Photograph: Chan Long Hei/AP
The latest fire has prompted comparisons to the Grenfell Tower inferno that killed 72 people in London in 2017. That fire was blamed on firms fitting the exterior with flammable cladding, as well as failings by the government and the construction industry. Three companies that were heavily criticised in the findings of the Grenfell inquiry last year have all continued to deny wrongdoing.
The Tai Po district authorities have opened shelters in local community halls, at least one of which local media reported was full by Wednesday night, and police have set up a casualty hotline.
Several forums and campaign events related to 7 December elections that had been scheduled for the coming days have also been cancelled.
On Wednesday night, dozens of shocked residents, many sobbing, watched from nearby pavements as smoke funnelled up from the complex.
One 71-year-old resident surnamed Wong broke down in tears, saying his wife was trapped inside.
A man who gave his surname as Wong reacts after claiming his wife was trapped inside Wang Fuk Court during Wednesday’s fire. Photograph: Tyrone Siu/Reuters
Another longtime resident, a woman surnamed Chu, said she still had not been able to contact her friends who live in the next block. After staying over at a friend’s place on Wednesday night, the 70-year-old came back to see her home still burning. “We don’t know what to do,” she said.
Harry Cheung, 66, who has lived at Block 2 in one of the complexes for more than 40 years, said he heard a loud noise about 2.45pm (6.45am UK time) and saw fire erupt in a nearby block. “I don’t even know how I feel right now,” he said. “I’m just thinking about where I’m going to sleep tonight because I probably won’t be able to go back home.”
China’s leader Xi Jinping urged an “all-out effort” to extinguish the fire and to minimise casualties and losses, as residents voiced anger online at possible causes of the fire.
One video appeared to show several construction workers smoking on the bamboo scaffolding surrounding one of the complex’s blocks during the renovation process.
Building standards in Hong Kong are relatively high and vastly improved in recent decades, but the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, a local advocacy group, expressed deep concern about fires associated with scaffolding, noting similar incidents in April, May and October.
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Though fire hazard was not cited as a reason for the phasing out of bamboo scaffolding, there have been at least three fires involving bamboo scaffolding this year, according to the association.
Wang Fuk Court is one of many high-rise housing 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 district with some 300,000 residents.
Occupied since 1983, the complex is under the government’s subsidised home ownership scheme, according to property agency websites. According to online posts, it has been undergoing renovations for a year at a cost of HK$330m ($42.4m), with each unit paying between HK$160,000 and HK$180,000.
With Reuters
