Hong Kong authorities reported on Saturday that 144 people initially reported missing after the fire at the Wang Fook Court apartment complex have been located unharmed, while about 150 people remain unable to be contacted. The official death toll remains at 128 and identification efforts are continuing. The provisional census estimates the number of dead at 84 and injured at 37, among the people who were initially considered missing.
The head of the police’s victim investigation unit, Karen Tsang Shuk-yin, noted that 44 bodies remain unidentified and that police have begun notifying relatives and people who reported the disappearance so that they can participate in the operation.
Although authorities did not provide a breakdown, figures released since Wednesday show that the initial list of missing persons, which was about 200, has been expanded and is now closer to 300, partly due to complaints containing incomplete or difficult-to-verify information. “Of those 150 cases, in a hundred, we only received very few details, sometimes an alias or even doubts about whether the person actually lives in Wang Fook Court,” Tsang explained in statements reported by the South China Morning Post, adding that the police are communicating “one by one” with those who called the line to enable identification.
This update comes amid a three-day official mourning in the city and as rescue teams continue to search the seven affected areas for remains and evidence. The fire broke out around 3 p.m. on Wednesday (07:00 GMT) in the Wang Cheong House building and affected seven of the eight buildings.
The government has canceled or postponed all publicly funded ceremonial activities and senior officials will refrain from non-essential events during mourning. Since Wednesday night, thousands of citizens, neighborhood groups, unions, churches and volunteers have rallied spontaneously, raising millions of Hong Kong dollars and distributing water, food, clothing and temporary shelters. The executive announced an initial funding of 800 million Hong Kong dollars (about 102 million dollars or 88.6 million euros) to help victims and those affected.
China is activating a national campaign to “correct” fire safety in skyscrapers
China’s State Council Security (Executive) Commission on Saturday ordered the launch of a nationwide “investigation and rectification” campaign aimed at eliminating serious fire risks in high-rise residential buildings and public buildings. The initiative gives priority to properties undergoing facade rehabilitation or interior renovation, in conditions similar to those transformed by the fire that was announced last Wednesday.
The audit will immediately focus on the use of flammable external thermal insulation, bamboo scaffolding, non-fireproof protective nets, and works carried out without an administrative permit.
In Hong Kong, police have already arrested eleven people, eight of them on Friday, including directors of consulting firms, project managers and subcontractors responsible for assembling scaffolding.
Police Commissioner Joe Zhao traveled to the scene on Saturday to oversee the launch of the criminal investigation, just 24 hours after the fire was completely extinguished. The Hong Kong Executive has established an inter-departmental task force to investigate the fires, led by the Fire Department. Its main objectives are to elucidate the origin and spread dynamics of the fire, as well as to identify the factors that caused the tragic death toll.
Dismantling scaffolding and protection nets in several blocks in Hong Kong
Preliminary investigations indicate that highly flammable materials used in the renovation work facilitated the vertical spread of the fire, while a criminal investigation is progressing with eleven people arrested, including directors, consultants and subcontractors, in one of the deadliest incidents in Hong Kong’s modern history. On Saturday, members of the Disaster Victim Identification Unit, equipped with comprehensive protective equipment, began the tasks of recovering bodies and collecting evidence inside the building.
Everything indicates that the highly flammable expanded polystyrene sheets used to seal holes and frames next to the elevators, along with external fabrics that did not comply with fire safety regulations, facilitated the entry of fire to the floors through the corridors. Fire Chief Andy Young revealed that the alarm systems in all eight blocks were faulty and announced action against the contractors.
In the last hours, scaffolding and protective nets were quickly dismantled in several residential complexes in the city, in addition to comprehensive checks carried out by firefighters on the ongoing works. Brenda Taylor, an expat living in Kowloon, told EFE: “I was sleeping restlessly for months, and seeing how they removed the bamboo and netting structure was like I was breathing again. I can finally open the windows without my pulse trembling.”
On the other hand, a Mwatana group launched a petition containing four demands that exceeded 10,000 supports in less than 24 hours, before appearing on the website as “closed.” The promoters demand sustainable assistance and dignified resettlement of victims, an independent investigation committee to examine possible illegal rewards in rehabilitation work, a comprehensive review of the technical supervision system and the purification of responsibilities, including those of senior officials, due to regulatory negligence.