🔗 Share this article

Hong Kong's chief executive, John Lee, has mandated the establishment of an autonomous task force to probe the origins of a catastrophic blaze that took a minimum of 151 individuals.

A Blaze of Unprecedented Scale

This past Wednesday, the majority of the tower blocks at the Wang Fuk Court—which was subject to major refurbishment—were consumed by a blaze. Investigators have since found that safety scaffolding mesh used around the buildings did not comply with fire safety regulations.

A minimum of 13 people have been taken into custody over potential negligent homicide, comprising the directors of a construction company.

"This is indeed a tragedy, it is a big fire. Yes, we need reform. Failures have been detected in different stages. That is exactly why we must respond rigorously to ensure that all these gaps are addressed," remarked Mr. Lee.

The Probe and Its Consequences

The blaze—that propagated rapidly both vertically and from building to building—was not completely extinguished by the end of the week, around 40 hours after it started, and took more than 2,000 firefighters to bring under control.

That very day, police began entering the buildings to gather evidence. Officials state the inquiry could last three to four weeks.

Shortcomings Uncovered

Multiple inhabitants have said they were not alerted by a fire alarm when the blaze started. Hong Kong's fire service discovered that warning systems in all eight blocks were malfunctioning.

The city's construction authority has temporarily suspended construction activities on 30 private projects.

Demands for Probe and Detentions

Additionally, officers took into custody a 24-year-old man on suspicion of sedition on Saturday. He was involved with a group demanding an autonomous investigation into the blaze. An online petition collected in excess of 10,000 endorsements in less than a day before its page was taken down.

Two other people, among them a past council member, were also questioned by authorities, per press accounts.

Global Response

The human rights organization and The monitoring body have both denounced the alleged detentions.

"This is the occasion for the Hong Kong authorities to openly examine the reasons of the devastating fire...instead of silencing those who pose valid inquiries," Amnesty International said.

Historical Context and Demographics

The housing estate was completed in the early 1980s and had offered close to 2,000 units for approximately 4,600 residents, per a population count.

Nearly 40% of its residents are estimated to be older than 65 years old. Several have been occupants of the subsidised housing estate since it was built.

Hong Kong's second-most fatal incident on in history took 176 lives in 1948 and was caused by a ground-floor explosion at a commercial building. The deadliest was at Happy Valley Racecourse in 1918, when in excess of 600 people perished.