CHANG HO-HIM and DAVID Rising
HONG KONG (AP) — Safety netting covering scaffolding around buildings that burned down last week in Hong Kong did not meet fire-resistant standards, Hong Kong authorities said Monday, as a wave of public sympathy and support was met by government measures to quell criticism.
Chris Tan, Hong Kong's security minister, said mesh samples were taken from several locations in the seven buildings that caught fire. Seven samples were found to be non-compliant. Initial tests showed the mesh met standards, but investigators were unable to fully verify this due to the fire.
“Since the fire has now been extinguished, we were able to access places that were previously difficult to access to take samples,” Tan told reporters.
The fire started Wednesday afternoon and was not fully extinguished until Friday morning. At least 146 people were killed, dozens were injured and thousands were left homeless.
As of Monday, donations to fire survivors had reached HK$900 million (US$115 million) as a steady stream of people laid flowers, cards and other mementos at a makeshift altar near the complex of burnt buildings.
“When something happens, we come out to help each other,” Loretta Law said as she paid her respects at the scene. “My heart hurts.”
The fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon at the Wang Fuk Court complex in suburban Tai Po. Seven of the eight apartment buildings, which housed about 4,600 people, were burned.
Hong Kong police's Disaster Victim Identification Unit searched four buildings over the weekend and found 30 more bodies, bringing the official death toll to 146. Another 100 people are still missing and 79 injured.
Hong Kong authorities said Monday that teams were assessing the safety of other buildings, including the one that caught fire first and suffered the most damage.
Millions of donated funds and HK$300 million ($38.5 million) in seed money from the government will be used to help victims rebuild their homes and provide long-term support, local officials said. The government has also provided cash grants to survivors 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 people had moved into temporary housing. Two temporary shelters remain open to others, officials said.
All buildings in the complex were clad in bamboo scaffolding, covered with nylon mesh for external renovation. The windows were covered with polystyrene foam panels and authorities are investigating whether fire safety regulations were violated.
According to Hong Kong's Ministry of Labor, residents have been complaining about the mesh covering the scaffolding for almost a year. He confirmed that since July 2024, officials have carried out 16 inspections of the renovation project and several times issued written warnings to contractors about the need to comply with fire safety requirements. The last inspection was just a week before the fire.
Hong Kong's anti-corruption agency arrested 11 people, including directors and consulting engineers of the construction company. A growing number of people are wondering whether government officials should also be held accountable.
“People are unhappy and believe the Hong Kong (Hong Kong) government should be held accountable,” said Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a local political scientist and senior fellow at the Paris-based Asia Center think tank.
But opportunities for dissent are limited in the former British colony, which came under Chinese control in 1997 and has increasingly made efforts to silence public criticism on national security grounds.
On Saturday, the National Security Administration issued a strongly worded statement about so-called “evil plans” that had the “ultimate motivation of using the disaster to create trouble and destroy Hong Kong.” He did not provide specific details.
A man who helped organize an online petition calling for government accountability was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of sedition, local media including HK01 and Sing Tao Daily reported. Two others were arrested on Sunday, including a volunteer who offered to help in Tai Po after the fire broke out, the same media reported.
Capstan said Hong Kong authorities were acting in the same way as mainland Chinese authorities, preventing protests before they could develop.
Hong Kong police declined to comment specifically on the arrests, telling The Associated Press only that “the police will take action according to the actual circumstances and in accordance with the law.”
Authorities have cracked down on dissent in the city since hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in 2019 against government plans to allow extradition to mainland China, effectively banning mass protests and barring opposition leaders from participating in legislative elections.
