Hong Kong fire probe reveals unsafe netting as public mourns and government stifles dissent
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong officials said Monday that their investigation into a deadly blaze that killed at least 151 has revealed some of the netting that covered scaffolding used in renovations was not up to fire-safety codes, as a wave of public sympathy and support was met by government moves to stifle criticism.
Wednesday’s blaze, which took until Friday to fully extinguish, started on the lower-level netting covering bamboo scaffolding around one building in the high-rise Wang Fuk Court complex. It then swept inside as foam panels placed over windows caught fire and blew out the glass. Winds carried flames from building to building that all were covered in scaffolding and netting, until seven of eight were ablaze.
Initial tests of the netting showed it was up to code, but subsequently investigators collected 20 samples from all areas, including higher floors, and found seven failed safety standards, suggesting contractors skimped to make greater profits, said Eric Chan, Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary.
“They just wanted to make money at the expense of people’s lives,” he told reporters.
Donations for survivors of the fire had reached 900 million Hong Kong dollars (US$115 million) as of Monday, authorities said, as a steady stream of people placed flowers, cards and other tributes at a makeshift memorial near the burned out block of buildings.
“When something happens, we come out to help each other, ” said Loretta Loh, after paying her regards at the site. “I have a heavy heart.”
Some 4,600 people lived in the Wang Fuk Court complex in the suburb of Tai Po.
Hong Kong police Disaster Victim Identification Unit staff had searched five of the burned buildings but only made partial progress through the remaining two, said Tsang Shuk-yin, head of the police casualty enquiry unit. Teams were assessing the safety of the other buildings, including the one that caught fire first and suffered the worst damage.
On Monday they recovered another eight bodies, including three that firefighters found earlier but could not retrieve. Dozens of people remain unaccounted for, but some are likely among the 39 bodies not yet identified, Tsang said.
“We will have to wait until we get through all seven blocks before we can make a final report,” she said.
Private donations and 300 million Hong Kong dollars ($38.5 million) in start-up capital from the government will be used to help victims rebuild their homes and provide long–term support, local officials said. The government has also given survivors cash subsidies to help with expenses, including funerals, and is working to find them housing.
By Monday, 683 residents had found places in local hotels and hostels, and another 1,144 moved into transitional housing units. Two emergency shelters remained open for others, authorities said.
Residents had complained for almost a year about the construction netting, Hong Kong’s Labor Department said. It confirmed officials had carried out 16 inspections of the renovation project since July 2024 and had warned contractors multiple times in writing that they had to meet fire safety requirements. The latest inspection was just a week before the fire.
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption authorities and police have arrested 14 people, including the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company, according to Chris Tang, the secretary for security.
People increasingly have been questioning whether government officials should also be held responsible.
“People are angry and think that the HK (Hong Kong) government should be accountable,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a locally-based political scientist and senior research fellow at Paris’s Asia Centre think tank.
But the leeway for dissent is limited in the former British colony, which came under Chinese control in 1997 and has moved to quiet public criticism on national security grounds.
“There are rumors being spread by bad people giving fake news about the firefighters not employing the correct tactics to fight the fire, or victims being charged 8,000 Hong Kong dollars a night to stay in hotels – these are all false,” Tang said.
“We will arrest these rumor mongers.”
On Saturday, the Office for Safeguarding National Security blasted what it called “evil schemes” that had ”the ulterior motives of using the disaster to create trouble and disrupt Hong Kong.” It did not give specifics.
Also Saturday, a man who helped organize an online petition calling for government accountability was arrested on suspicion of sedition, local media including HK01 and Sing Tao Daily reported. Two others were arrested on Sunday, including a volunteer who offered help in Tai Po after the fire broke out, the same outlets reported.
Cabestan said Hong Kong officials were operating like authorities in mainland China, forestalling protests before they might develop.
Tang would not give specific details of the three arrests, but said that police “must take action” against those who try to “endanger national security,” saying broadly that some people have been “taking advantage of the saddening moment … and attempting to incite hatred against the government.”
Dissent in the city has been muzzled since hundreds of thousands took to the streets in 2019 against government plans to allow extradition to mainland China. Hong Kong now virtually bans mass protests and bars opposition political figures from running in legislature elections.