A fire at Wang Fuk Court public housing estate in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district killed 55 people.
The blaze started at 2:51pm local time on 26 November and spread through seven out of eight residential blocks.
Wong Ka-wing, a deputy director at the Fire Services Department, said 51 people died at the scene. Four more were declared dead at the hospital.
About 280 people remained unaccounted for as of the afternoon of 27 November. Seventy-six people were hospitalised, with 15 in critical condition and 28 in serious condition.
Fire Spread Through Styrofoam and Non-Compliant Materials
Firefighters brought raging flames under control at four out of the seven affected blocks. The remaining three blocks still had fires burning on the upper floors of their 31-storey structures.
Rescue teams continued extracting victims from the buildings.
A preliminary investigation found highly flammable styrofoam covering lift windows on every floor. This material caused the fire to spread rapidly within the blocks and ignite flats through the corridors.
The mesh netting and sheeting used outside the buildings failed to meet fire safety standards, officials said on Wednesday night.
Three Arrested for Manslaughter
Police arrested three people for manslaughter—two directors and a consultant from the contractor responsible for renovating the buildings.
They allegedly used non-compliant materials in scaffolding nets and sealed windows with styrofoam. The flammable substances caused the fire to spread quickly.
Footage from the scene showed bamboo scaffolding outside several flats bursting into spiralling flames. The scaffolding was completely engulfed in towering columns of fire. Burning sections of green scaffolding mesh fell to the ground.
Chief Executive Orders Estate Inspections
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu ordered inspections on all Hong Kong public housing estates undergoing major renovations. Authorities launched a criminal investigation into the city’s deadliest fire.
President Xi Jinping expressed his condolences in a statement on Wednesday evening. He called for all-out efforts to minimise casualties and losses.
