Fire fighting, rescue and search operations were stopped on Friday for the third day after a massive fire broke out in seven high-rise buildings in Hong Kong, but the death toll in this incident has increased to 128 and more than 200 people are still missing. Hong Kong police have launched an investigation into how the fire broke out in a cluster of buildings where about 4,600 people live in 1,984 apartments. The rescue operation has been stopped after three days. Investigation into the cause of the fire has started and the police have arrested 8 people associated with the construction work.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government told a press conference that the fire-fighting, rescue and search operations were completed at 10 am local time. HKSAR Government Security Secretary Chris Tang Ping-kyung said that so far 128 people have died in the fire that broke out in Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po.
More than 200 people missing
According to state news agency Xinhua, he said that the possibility cannot be ruled out that more bodies may be recovered later when police reach the spot for investigation. Tang said more than 200 people were missing, as families of the missing desperately waited for news of their loved ones.
Meanwhile, eight people, including a woman, involved in the renovation work of buildings were arrested by Hong Kong’s anti-corruption body. A total of 391 fire engines, 185 ambulances and 2,311 fire and ambulance personnel were deployed in the three-day long operation, officials said. One firefighter died and 12 were injured. Tang said the Hong Kong Police Force will conduct the entire evidence collection and investigation, which is expected to take three to four weeks.
no advance warning
According to the BBC report, the cause of the fire has not been known, but it is suspected that the fire spread rapidly due to the Styrofoam installed outside the windows. Survivors complained that the fire alarms were not working, due to which residents did not receive any advance warning.
Tang said the fire first broke out in the perimeter mesh on the lower level of Wang Cheong House, causing the foam board to catch fire and quickly spread to other buildings. Due to this, the glass broke, the fire broke out rapidly and spread inside the house, causing a large-scale simultaneous fire.
He told that due to the high temperature, the bamboo scaffolds got burnt and due to the falling of pieces of burning bamboo, other nets of the scaffolds also caught fire. With the buildings completely gutted, the survivors have been shifted to 1,000 vacant flats nearby.
Government provided help
The Hong Kong government has announced a ‘grant’ of 200,000 Hong Kong dollars (about US$25,693) to the families of each victim. According to the report of Xinhua news agency, from next week each family will be given a living allowance of 50,000 Hong Kong dollars. The Hong Kong government has also launched an emergency cash grant of 10,000 Hong Kong dollars to meet the immediate needs of each affected family from Thursday evening.
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