5 months ago
1
Donations for victims of a Hong Kong occurrence that killed astatine slightest 146 people and near thousands stateless reached 900 cardinal Hong Kong dollars ($115 million), authorities said connected Monday (December 1, 2025), successful a monolithic outpouring of sympathy and support. But arsenic questions grew implicit who to blasted for the deadly blaze, the authorities appeared to beryllium moving swiftly to stifle criticism.
A dependable watercourse of radical placed flowers, cards and different tributes astatine a makeshift memorial adjacent the burned-out artifact of buildings, aft agelong lines of mourners during the weekend.
“When thing happens, we travel retired to assistance each other, ” said Loretta Loh, aft paying her regards astatine the site. “I person a dense heart.”
The occurrence broke retired connected Wednesday day astatine the Wang Fuk Court analyzable successful the suburb of Tai Po. It burned done 7 of 8 flat towers, location to immoderate 4,600 people, and wasn't afloat extinguished until Friday morning.
Hong Kong constabulary Disaster Victim Identification Unit unit went done 4 of the buildings implicit the weekend, uncovering different 30 bodies that took the authoritative decease toll to 146. Another 100 radical are inactive unaccounted for, and 79 were injured.
On Monday, Hong Kong authorities said teams were assessing the information of the different buildings, including the 1 that caught occurrence archetypal and suffered the worst damage.
The millions of donated funds, and 300 cardinal Hong Kong dollars ($38.5 million) successful start-up superior from the government, volition beryllium utilized to assistance victims rebuild their homes and supply semipermanent support, section officials said.
People look connected adjacent the Wang Fuk Court lodging analyzable pursuing the deadly occurrence connected Wednesday, successful Tai Po, Hong Kong, China December 1, 2025. | Photo Credit: Reuters
The authorities has besides fixed survivors currency subsidies to assistance with expenses, including funerals, and is moving to find them housing.
By Monday, 683 residents had recovered places successful section hotels and hostels, and different 1,144 moved into transitional lodging units. Two exigency shelters remained unfastened for others, authorities said.
The complex's buildings were each clad successful bamboo scaffolding draped with nylon netting for outer renovations. Windows were covered with polystyrene panels, and authorities are investigating whether occurrence codes had been violated.
Residents had complained for astir a twelvemonth astir the netting that covered the scaffolding, Hong Kong's Labour Department said. It confirmed officials had carried retired 16 inspections of the renovation task since July 2024 and had warned contractors aggregate times successful penning that they had to conscionable occurrence information requirements. The latest inspection was conscionable a week earlier the fire.
A pistillate pays tribute astatine a makeshift memorial with angiosperm tributes for victims of the deadly occurrence connected Wednesday, adjacent the Wang Fuk Court lodging analyzable successful Tai Po, Hong Kong, China December 1, 2025. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Hong Kong's anti-corruption bureau has arrested 11 people, including the directors and an engineering advisor of a operation company. A increasing fig of radical person been questioning whether authorities officials should besides beryllium held responsible.
"People are aggravated and deliberation that the HK (Hong Kong) authorities should beryllium accountable,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a locally-based governmental idiosyncratic and elder probe chap astatine the Paris-based Asia Centre deliberation tank.
But the leeway for dissent is constricted successful the erstwhile British colony, which came nether Chinese power successful 1997 and progressively has moved to quiescent nationalist disapproval connected nationalist information grounds.
On Saturday, the Office for Safeguarding National Security deed retired with a harshly-worded connection astir what it called “evil schemes” that had ”the ulterior motives of utilizing the catastrophe to make occupation and disrupt Hong Kong.” It did not springiness specifics.
On Saturday, a antheral who helped organise an online petition calling for authorities accountability was arrested connected suspicion of sedition, section media, including HK01 and Sing Tao Daily, reported.
Two others were arrested connected Sunday, including a unpaid who offered assistance successful Tai Po aft the occurrence broke out, the aforesaid outlets reported.
Mr. Cabestan said Hong Kong authorities were operating similar authorities successful mainland China, forestalling protests earlier they mightiness develop.
Hong Kong constabulary would not remark specifically connected the arrests, telling The Associated Press lone that “police volition instrumentality actions according to existent circumstances and successful accordance with the law.”
Authorities person efficaciously quashed dissent successful the metropolis since hundreds of thousands took to the streets successful 2019 against authorities plans to let extradition to mainland China, and person virtually banned wide protests arsenic good arsenic absorption governmental figures from moving successful legislative elections.
