Thick smoke and flames rise as a serious hearth engulfs a number of condominium blocks on the Wang Fuk Courtroom 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 hearth tore via a high-rise housing advanced in Hong Kong on Wednesday into Thursday, in one of many area’s deadliest blazes in many years.
Hong Kong authorities say not less than 83 individuals have died within the hearth and lots of are nonetheless lacking.
A minimum of one of many lifeless is a firefighter who was combating the blaze. The Hong Kong hearth division additionally stated 76 individuals had been injured.
Police stated they’ve arrested three males for alleged manslaughter in reference to the hearth.
The Wang Fuk Courtroom advanced in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district is a cluster of eight public housing towers and residential to about 4,600 individuals, based on a 2021 census.
Hong Kong is among the most densely populated cities on the planet, making it troublesome to extinguish giant fires, which may 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 hearth. The hearth additionally unfold from the housing advanced to the Wong Shiu Chi Secondary College about 500 yards away.
Firefighters spray water on flames as a serious hearth engulfs a number of condominium blocks on the Wang Fuk Courtroom residential property in Hong Kong.
/AFP through Getty Pictures
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/AFP through Getty Pictures
When NPR visited the positioning, 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.
Outdoors the constructing, one aged couple, who requested NPR to not use their names, stated that they had lived in Wang Fuk Courtroom 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 condominium survived, however they’d now keep at their son’s dwelling.
One other lady, who spoke on the situation of anonymity, stated she was 65, and has lived there together with her husband for greater than 40 years. She came upon concerning the hearth from a textual content message from a pal, seconds earlier than the alarm went off and she or he knew she needed to depart. She tried to alert her neighbor, a person in his 80s who has hassle strolling, however there was no reply, and she or he nonetheless hasn’t heard from him.
About 1,000 of the surviving residents are being housed in neighborhood shelters. Hong Kong Chief Government John Lee stated the town’s police and hearth companies division had arrange a group to analyze the reason for the hearth.
China’s chief Xi Jinping despatched condolences to the households of the victims.
Authorities say the demise toll might nonetheless rise. A number of individuals injured within the hearth had been in essential situation, based on a authorities official. And firefighters are nonetheless making an attempt to rescue trapped residents. One aged man was rescued this afternoon from the thirty first ground of one of many buildings, a fireplace division official stated.
Inbuilt 1983, the Wang Fuk Courtroom advanced had been due for renovations, and its towers had been encased with bamboo scaffolding, a conventional constructing materials, when the hearth 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 hearth in London in 2017. In that fireside, a postmortem report blamed authorities, regulators and business within the UK for the deaths of 72 individuals.
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.”
