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Hong Kong's deadliest occurrence successful decades has raised questions astir corruption and negligence successful the renovations of the flat analyzable wherever astatine slightest 128 radical died.
An aggravated occurrence broke retired astatine Wang Fuk Court analyzable successful Hong Kong's bluish suburbs connected Wednesday (November 26) afternoon, with flames covering 7 of 8 of the towers. The analyzable was location to immoderate 4,800 residents, immoderate of whom had raised information concerns astir the renovations much than twelvemonth earlier the fire.
Police connected Wednesday (November 26) arrested 3 men from a operation institution connected suspicion of manslaughter and gross negligence. They are present retired connected bail. Authorities past arrested 7 men and 1 woman, ranging successful property from 40 to 63, including scaffolding subcontractors, directors of an engineering advisor institution and task managers supervising the renovation, successful a corruption probe.
Police person not identified the institution wherever the suspects worked, but documents posted to the homeowners association’s website showed that the Prestige Construction & Engineering Company was successful complaint of renovations. Police person seized boxes of documents from the company, wherever phones rang unanswered connected Thursday (November 27).
Officials besides said they were investigating the materials used, some the netting connected the scaffolding and the foam panels, and their relation successful the blaze.
For astir a year, immoderate residents astatine the Wang Fuk Court analyzable had been raising information concerns to Hong Kong authorities astir the operation netting being utilized successful the renovation project, according to documents reviewed by the AP, specifically astir the netting that covered the scaffolding.
Hong Kong’s Labor Department successful a connection connected Saturday (November 29, 2025) confirmed they had received specified complaints, adding that officials had carried retired 16 inspections of Wang Fuk Court’s renovation task since July 2024, and had warned contractors aggregate times via penning that they indispensable guarantee they met occurrence information requirements.
The Labour Department said they had reviewed the merchandise prime certificate of the netting and that it was successful enactment with standards.
Those precise materials are present of large involvement aft preliminary investigations showed the occurrence started connected a lower-level scaffolding nett of 1 of the buildings. It past dispersed rapidly arsenic the foam panels caught fire, said Chris Tang, the city's Secretary for Security. Police besides said they had been looking astatine highly flammable foam panels.
“The blaze ignited the foam panels, causing the solid to shatter and starring to a swift intensification of the occurrence and its dispersed into the interior spaces,” Mr. Tang said.
Further, archetypal responders recovered that immoderate occurrence alarms successful the complex, which housed galore older people, did not dependable erstwhile tested, said Andy Yeung, the manager of Hong Kong Fire Services, though helium did not accidental however galore were not moving oregon if others were.
It took firefighters a time to bring the occurrence nether control, and it was not afloat extinguished until Friday (November 28, 2025) greeting — immoderate 40 hours aft it started.
Crews prioritised apartments from which they had received exigency calls during the blaze but were incapable to scope successful the hours that the occurrence burned retired of control, Derek Armstrong Chan, a Deputy Director of Hong Kong Fire Services, told reporters.
12 firefighters were among the 79 radical injured successful the blaze, and 1 firefighter was killed.
Even 2 days aft the occurrence began, fume continued to drift retired of the charred skeletons of the buildings from the occasional flare-up.
While much bodies mightiness beryllium recovered, authorities said, crews person finished a hunt for anyone surviving trapped inside.
Authorities said connected Friday (November 28, 2025) that they had concluded hunt and rescue operations, and that they were trying to place 89 bodies, retired of a full of 200 radical who were unaccounted for.
Katy Lo, 70, a nonmigratory of Wang Fuk Court, was not location erstwhile the occurrence started Wednesday (November 26). She rushed backmost astir an hr aboriginal to spot that the blaze had dispersed to her building.
“That’s my home.… I inactive can’t truly judge what happened,” Ms. Lo said connected Friday (November 28) arsenic she registered for Government assistance for affected households. “This each inactive feels similar a atrocious dream.”
The dormant included 2 Indonesian migrant workers, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry said connected Thursday (November 27). About 11 different migrants from the state who were moving arsenic home helpers successful the flat analyzable remained missing, Indonesian Consulate General Yul Edison said onFriday (November 28).
The metropolis lowered flags to fractional unit successful mourning, and Chief Executive John Lee, led a three-minute soundlessness connected Saturday (November 29, 2025) from the authorities office with officials each dressed successful black.
The occurrence was the deadliest successful Hong Kong successful decades. A 1996 occurrence successful a commercialized gathering successful Kowloon killed 41 people. A warehouse occurrence successful 1948 killed 176 people, according to the South China Morning Post.
