HONG KONG (AP) — Firefighters battled for a second day to extinguish a blaze at a high-rise house advanced in Hong Kong on Thursday, because the loss of life toll rose to 94 in one of many deadliest blazes within the metropolis’s fashionable historical past.
Rescuers holding flashlights have been going from house to house on the charred towers as thick smoke poured out from some home windows on the Wang Fuk Courtroom advanced, a dense cluster of buildings housing hundreds of individuals in Tai Po district, a northern suburb close to Hong Kong’s border with the mainland.
Officers stated firefighters have been nonetheless engaged on a handful of flats and making an attempt to enter all the models within the seven towers to make sure there have been no additional casualties.
“Our firefighting operation is almost complete,” stated Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of Hearth Providers Operations. Firefighters have been working onerous “to prevent the debris and embers from flaring up. What’s next is the search and rescue operation,” he added.
It was unclear how many individuals remained lacking or trapped. Hong Kong chief John Lee stated contact had been misplaced with 279 individuals early Thursday. Authorities didn’t present updates on the lacking individuals or what number of have been nonetheless contained in the ravaged buildings Thursday throughout a press convention.
Video confirmed rescuers looking in some flats at nighttime. Orange flames have been nonetheless seen from inside a number of home windows, although the entire advanced was now largely a blackened wreck.
Firefighters have been making an attempt to manage the flames since midafternoon Wednesday, when the fireplace was believed to have began in bamboo scaffolding and building netting after which unfold throughout seven of the advanced’s eight buildings.
Chan stated the blaze unfold “exceptionally fast” throughout the towers, and emergency employees struggled to achieve entry inside.
“Debris and scaffolding were falling from upper floors,” he informed reporters. “There are also other reasons like high temperature, darkness … (and) emergency vehicle access was blocked by fallen scaffolding and debris, making our access to the building very difficult.”
Greater than 70 individuals have been injured, together with 11 firefighters, in addition to the 94 killed, the Hearth Providers Division stated. About 900 individuals have been evacuated to momentary shelters in a single day.
Pope Leo XIV despatched a telegram to Hong Kong’s bishop Thursday, saying he was saddened by the fireplace and providing prayers for the injured, their households and emergency employees.
Resident Lawrence Lee was ready for information about his spouse, who he believed was nonetheless trapped of their house.
“When the fire started, I told her on the phone to escape. But once she left the flat, the corridor and stairs were all filled with smoke and it was all dark, so she had no choice but to go back to the flat,” he stated, as he waited in one of many shelters in a single day.
Winter and Sandy Chung, who lived in one of many towers, stated they noticed sparks fly round as they evacuated Wednesday afternoon. Though they have been protected, they have been anxious about their residence. “I couldn’t sleep the entire night,” Winter Chung, 75, informed The Related Press on Thursday.
Three arrested on suspicion of manslaughter
Three males, the administrators and an engineering marketing consultant of a building firm, have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Police haven’t straight named the corporate the place they work.
“We have reason to believe that those in charge of the construction company were grossly negligent,” stated Eileen Chung, a senior superintendent of police.
Police on Thursday additionally searched the workplace of Status Development & Engineering Firm, which the AP confirmed was accountable for renovations within the tower advanced. Police seized containers of paperwork as proof, in response to native media. Telephones for Status rang unanswered.
YAN ZHAO through Getty Photographs
Authorities suspected some supplies on the outside partitions of the high-rise buildings didn’t meet hearth resistance requirements, permitting the unusually quick unfold of the fireplace.
Police additionally stated they discovered plastic foam panels ― that are extremely flammable ― connected to the home windows on every ground close to the elevator foyer of the one unaffected tower. It was believed to have been put in by the development firm however the goal was not clear. Secretary for Safety Chris Tang stated they’d examine the supplies additional.
Buildings have been lined in scaffolding
The housing advanced consisted of eight buildings with nearly 2,000 flats for about 4,800 residents, together with many older individuals. It was constructed within the Eighties and had been present process a significant renovation. Hong Kong’s anti-corruption company stated on Thursday it was launching a probe into potential corruption regarding the renovation undertaking.
Officers stated the fireplace began on the exterior scaffolding of a 32-story tower, then unfold on the bamboo scaffolding and building netting to the within of the constructing after which to the opposite buildings, possible aided by windy situations.
Bamboo scaffolding is a standard sight in Hong Kong at constructing building and renovation initiatives, although Lee stated officers will meet with business representatives to debate a change to steel scaffolding amid security issues.
“While we know that bamboo scaffolding has a long history in Hong Kong, its flame retardancy is inferior to that of metal scaffolding. For safety reasons, the government believes that a complete switch to metal scaffolding should be implemented in suitable working environments,” stated Eric Chan, the Chief Secretary for Administration.
Authorities may even be finishing up speedy inspections of all housing estates which can be present process main renovation work to make sure scaffolding and building supplies meet security requirements.
The fireplace was the deadliest in Hong Kong in many years. In November 1996, 41 individuals died in a industrial constructing in Kowloon in a fireplace that lasted for round 20 hours.
Wu reported from Bangkok. Researcher Shihuan Chen in Beijing and author Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.
