Thick smoke and flames rise as a serious fireplace engulfs a number of house blocks on the Wang Fuk Court docket residential property in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on Wednesday. Dozens of individuals had been killed or had been lacking within the blaze.
Yan Zhao/AFP through Getty Pictures
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Yan Zhao/AFP through Getty Pictures
HONG KONG — A large fireplace tore by means of a high-rise housing complicated in Hong Kong on Wednesday into Thursday, in one of many area’s deadliest blazes in many years.
Hong Kong authorities say at the very least 65 folks have died within the fireplace and 279 individuals are nonetheless lacking.
At the least one of many useless is a firefighter who was combating the blaze. The Hong Kong fireplace division additionally stated 70 folks had been injured.
Police stated they’ve arrested three males for alleged manslaughter in reference to the fireplace.
The Wang Fuk Court docket complicated in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district is a cluster of eight public housing towers and residential to about 4,600 folks, in accordance with a 2021 census.
Hong Kong is without doubt one of the most densely populated cities on the earth, making it troublesome to extinguish giant fires, which might unfold simply from constructing to constructing.
Due to the blaze, a number of adjoining roads had been shut down, together with about 30 bus routes, which had been diverted away from the fireplace. The hearth additionally unfold from the housing complicated to the Wong Shiu Chi Secondary Faculty about 500 yards away.
Firefighters spray water on flames as a serious fireplace engulfs a number of house blocks on the Wang Fuk Court docket residential property in Hong Kong.
‎/AFP through Getty Pictures
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‎/AFP through Getty Pictures
When NPR visited the location, it appeared that the peak of the buildings was a problem for firefighters, due to the restricted lengths of their ladders. Firehoses had been pointed on the buildings, however the water stream was solely hitting midway or two-thirds of the way in which up.
Exterior the constructing, one aged couple, who requested NPR to not use their names, stated they’d lived in Wang Fuk Court docket because it was constructed. They had been sitting on a park bench, with a nylon bag full of a blanket, and a foldable mattress at their toes, watching the fires nonetheless burning. They weren’t certain if their house survived, however they’d now keep at their son’s dwelling.
One other girl, who spoke on the situation of anonymity, stated she was 65, and has lived there along with her husband for greater than 40 years. She discovered in regards to the fireplace from a textual content message from a pal, seconds earlier than the alarm went off and he or she knew she needed to depart. She tried to alert her neighbor, a person in his 80swho has hassle strolling, however there was no reply, and he or she nonetheless hasn’t heard from him.
About 1,000 of the surviving residents are being housed in neighborhood shelters. Hong Kong Chief Govt John Lee stated the town’s police and fireplace companies division had arrange a crew to analyze the reason for the fireplace.
China’s chief Xi Jinping despatched condolences to the households of the victims.
Authorities say the demise toll might nonetheless rise. A number of folks injured within the fireplace had been in crucial situation, in accordance with a authorities official. And firefighters are nonetheless attempting to rescue trapped residents. One aged man was rescued this afternoon from the thirty first flooring of one of many buildings, a hearth division official stated.
Inbuilt 1983, the Wang Fuk Court docket complicated had been due for renovations, and its towers had been encased with bamboo scaffolding, a standard constructing materials, when the fireplace broke out.
Final yr, Hong Kong’s authorities started phasing out bamboo in scaffolding materials and changing it with metal, arguing that metallic posed much less of a fireplace hazard.
Comparisons are already being made to the Grenfell Tower fireplace in London in 2017. In that fireside, a postmortem report blamed authorities, regulators and business within the UK for the deaths of 72 folks.
On Thursday, the Grenfell United survivors’ group posted on social media: “Our hearts go out to all those affected by the horrific fire in Hong Kong. To the families, friends and communities, we stand with you. You are not alone.”
