Hong Kong police arrested the heads of a construction company on Thursday, suspected of involuntary manslaughter, for the city’s worst fire in almost 80 years, in which at least 83 people died and dozens more are missing.
Hong Kong firefighters controlled most of the fire that devastated the Wang Fuk Court complex in the northern district of Tai Po. The building was being renovated and was wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and covered in green mesh. Rescuers battled for more than a day against intense heat and thick smoke to reach residents feared trapped on the upper floors.
Video showed firefighters with flashlights searching through the charred remains of the towers Thursday night. At a news conference early Friday, authorities said they expected the flames to be completely extinguished in the next few hours. A distraught woman searched for her daughter with a graduation photo outside a shelter, one of eight that authorities say house 900 residents. “She and her father haven’t dated yet,” sobbed the 52-year-old, who only gave her last name, Ng, with her daughter’s graduation photo. “There was no water to save our building.”
Police arrested two directors and an engineering consultant for Prestige Construction, a company contracted to maintain the buildings. Police said those arrested were suspected of manslaughter for using unsafe materials.
“We have reason to believe that those responsible for the company incurred serious negligence, which caused this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, causing significant casualties,” said police superintendent Eileen Chung. Prestige did not respond to repeated calls seeking comment. Police seized tender documents, a list of employees, 14 computers and three mobile phones in a raid on the company’s offices, the government added.
THE worst fire since 1948
The confirmed death toll rose to 83 as of midnight Thursday in Hong Kong, Hong Kong emergency services reported. It is the deadliest fire since 1948, when 176 people lost their lives in a warehouse fire.
The Government had said early on Thursday that 279 people were missing, but the figure has not been updated in 24 hours.
On the second night after the fire, dozens of evacuees set up mattresses in a nearby shopping center, with many saying that official evacuation centers should be reserved for those most in need.
People – from the elderly to schoolchildren – wrapped themselves in duvets and huddled in tents outside a McDonald’s restaurant and grocery stores, while a steady stream of volunteers handed out snacks and toiletries.
More than 4,600 people lived in the eight blocks of the 2,000-apartment complex in this financial center, which is struggling to overcome a chronic shortage of affordable housing. (1 dollar = 7.7779 Hong Kong dollars)
