Corruption, safety lapses probed in Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decadesHong Kong authorities are investigating possible corruption and negligence linked to the city’s deadliest fire in decades, a blaze that left at least 128 people dead and exposed longstanding safety concerns in a major apartment complex.
The fire erupted Wednesday afternoon at the Wang Fuk Court complex in the northern suburbs, engulfing seven of its eight residential towers. The development housed about 4,800 residents, some of whom had warned authorities as early as last year about unsafe renovation materials surrounding the buildings.
Police arrested three construction workers on suspicion of manslaughter and gross negligence. Although initially freed on bail, the men were later detained by the Independent Commission Against Corruption for their alleged leadership role in the renovation project. ICAC had already arrested eight other people linked to the works.
Authorities have not publicly identified the company involved, but documents on the homeowners association website list Prestige Construction and Engineering Company as the contractor responsible for renovations. Police seized boxes of documents from the firm. Calls to the company went unanswered.
Investigators are focusing on the materials used in the renovation, including the scaffolding netting and foam window panels that rapidly fueled the blaze. Residents had repeatedly complained about the safety of the netting, according to documents reviewed by the Associated Press.
The Hong Kong labor department confirmed it had received such complaints and had conducted 16 inspections at the site since July 2024. Officials issued multiple written warnings to contractors to comply with fire safety rules, including one inspection a week before the fire. The department reviewed the netting’s product certificate and said it met standards, although the netting itself had not been the focus of earlier checks.
Secretary for Security Chris Tang said preliminary findings indicate the fire began in a lower-level scaffolding net before spreading quickly when foam panels ignited. The burning panels shattered nearby windows, accelerating the fire’s spread inside the buildings.
The labor department said Prestige Construction had previously faced three prosecutions for safety violations related to working at height. Two cases resulted in fines totaling 30,000 Hong Kong dollars, or 3,850 US dollars, and the company received three additional fines in 2023 for unrelated offenses.
Fire Services Director Andy Yeung said some alarms in the complex did not activate during tests, although he did not specify how many failed. Many residents in the towers were older adults who relied on building alarms to alert them to danger.
Firefighters battled the blaze for nearly 40 hours. Crews prioritized apartments from which emergency calls were made but could not be reached while flames raged out of control. Twelve firefighters were among the 79 injured, and one firefighter died in the line of duty.
Even after two days, smoke continued to seep from the blackened structures as flare-ups persisted. Officials completed their search for survivors but warned that additional bodies may still be found. Authorities said they have yet to identify 44 of the 128 recovered bodies, and about 150 people remain unaccounted for.
Among the victims were two Indonesian migrant workers, Indonesia’s foreign ministry said. Eleven other Indonesian domestic workers who lived in the complex remain missing, according to Consul General Yul Edison.
At a nearby playground, residents placed white roses in remembrance. One mother, Sara Yu, guided her two-year-old son as they laid flowers together. She said she wanted her children to understand the value of life.
Outside a building where families viewed photos of the deceased for identification, mourners left flowers and messages. One sign asked, “More than 128 innocent lives, what did they do wrong?”
The city lowered flags to half staff. Chief Executive John Lee led a three-minute moment of silence Saturday as officials dressed in black gathered at government headquarters.
The tragedy is the city’s deadliest fire since a 1948 warehouse blaze that killed 176 people. Hong Kong also recorded 41 deaths in a 1996 commercial building fire in Kowloon.
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
- Venus L Peñaflor
