Hong Kong mourns victims of blaze that killed 128 and counting

Hong Kong connected Saturday mourned the 128 radical known to person died successful a monolithic occurrence astatine a high-rise flat complex, a toll that is apt to emergence with 200 others inactive unaccounted for days aft the disaster.

Authorities person arrested 11 radical successful transportation with the city's worst blaze successful astir 80 years arsenic they analyse imaginable corruption and the usage of unsafe materials during renovations astatine the Wang Fuk Court complex.

Rescue operations astatine the tract successful the territory of Tai Po, adjacent the borderline with mainland China, concluded connected Friday, though constabulary accidental they whitethorn find much bodies arsenic they hunt the burnt-out buildings arsenic portion of ongoing investigations.

The occurrence started connected Wednesday day and rapidly engulfed 7 of the 8 32-storey blocks astatine the complex, which were wrapped successful bamboo scaffolding and greenish mesh and layered with foam insulation for the renovations.

Authorities person said the occurrence alarms astatine the estate, location to much than 4,600 people, had not been moving properly.

Hong Kong person John Lee, different officials and civilian servants, each dressed successful black, stood successful soundlessness for 3 minutes aboriginal connected Saturday extracurricular the cardinal authorities offices, wherever flags were lowered to half-mast.

Condolence books person been acceptable up astatine 18 points astir the erstwhile British colony for the nationalist to wage their respects.

"Our astir heartfelt thoughts are with each those who person mislaid loved ones and with those that are present surviving with daze and uncertainty," Britain's King Charles said successful a connection astir the "appalling tragedy".

At Wang Fuk Court, constabulary officers from the catastrophe unfortunate recognition unit, wearing achromatic overalls, helmets and oxygen masks, entered 1 of the charred buildings to proceed their hunt for remains.

They climbed implicit mounds of bamboo scaffolding that had fallen during the catastrophe and astir ample puddles of h2o created aft firemen doused the buildings for days to effort to little the temperatures inside.

Families and mourners gathered to laic flowers portion immoderate faced the grim task of looking astatine photographs of the dormant taken by rescue workers. Authorities said connected Friday that lone 39 of the 128 dormant had been identified.

Hong Kong's Lee has said the authorities would acceptable up a HK$300 cardinal ($40 million) money to assistance residents portion immoderate of China's biggest listed companies person pledged donations.

Hundreds of volunteers person besides mobilised to assistance the victims, sorting and distributing items from diapers to blistery food.

They formed teams to collect, transport and administer goods successful round-the-clock shifts and person acceptable up a sprawling enactment campy for displaced residents beside a buying promenade crossed from the complex.

Domestic workers from Indonesia and the Philippines were besides caught up successful the tragedy. Hong Kong has astir 368,000 specified workers, mostly women from low-income Asian countries who unrecorded with their employers, often successful cramped spaces.

Indonesia said six of its citizens died successful the incident. The Philippines said 1 of its nationals is critically injured, different is confirmed missing, and 28 are thought to beryllium residents of the country but their whereabouts are unknown.

The occurrence is Hong Kong's deadliest since 1948, erstwhile 176 radical died successful a warehouse blaze, and has prompted comparisons to London's Grenfell Tower inferno, which killed 72 radical successful 2017.

Residents of Wang Fuk Court were told by authorities past twelvemonth that they faced "relatively debased occurrence risks" aft complaining repeatedly astir occurrence hazards posed by ongoing renovation, the city's Labour Department told Reuters.

The residents had raised concerns successful September 2024, including astir the imaginable flammability of the protective greenish mesh contractors had utilized to screen the bamboo scaffolding, a section spokesperson said.

Hong Kong's anti-graft assemblage said it had arrested 8 radical connected Friday including an engineering consultant, a scaffolding subcontractor and an intermediary.

Earlier, constabulary arrested 2 directors and an engineering advisor of Prestige Construction, a steadfast identified by the authorities arsenic doing attraction connected Wang Fuk Court for much than a year, connected suspicion of manslaughter for utilizing unsafe materials, including flammable foam boards blocking windows.

Prestige did not reply repeated calls for comment.

Public choler implicit the occurrence has truthful acold been muted, a stark opposition to wide pro-democracy protests of 2019 that prompted Beijing to tighten its grip connected the city.

Yet immoderate frustrated volunteers handed retired flyers adjacent the property connected Friday, demanding due resettlement of affected residents, an overhaul of authorities oversight of operation projects, and an autarkic probe into the blaze.

As with different large occurrence incidents similar Grenfell, analysts accidental unit for answers whitethorn rapidly dispersed beyond the operation firms to authorities regulators.

The Hong Kong authorities has traditionally staged unfastened inquiries into large-scale tragedies, often headed by an autarkic judge.