This Thursday morning (11/27) – local time – Hong Kong police authorities announced the arrest of three men for their involvement in the huge fire in a residential complex, in the Tai Po area, which left at least 44 dead and about 300 missing.
The suspects are employees of the company that carried out maintenance work at the Wang Fook Court Complex, which houses nearly 4,000 people. According to authorities, materials used in the work, such as bamboo scaffolding and foam applied to windows, may have helped the fire spread.
“We have reason to believe that company officials were seriously negligent, leading to this incident and allowing the fire to spread uncontrollably, causing the deaths of many people,” Superintendent Elaine Chung said, according to the South China Morning Post.
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Pictures show fire at skyscrapers in Hong Kong
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According to preliminary investigations, the fire started around 3 p.m. (4 a.m. Brasilia time). The fire started in bamboo scaffolding, which was installed around the Wang Fook residential complex, and spread to the skyscrapers.
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In a social media post, Housing Minister Winnie Ho Wing Yin informed that the government is providing assistance to the affected residents and that it can provide more than 1,400 units – including transitional housing and temporary housing in different neighborhoods of the city – to serve anyone in need.