A catastrophic fire in Hong Kong's Wang Fuk Court estate has killed at least 128 people, with about 200 others still missing. The blaze broke out on Wednesday in an apartment building and quickly spread to six other 32-storey towers. Investigators have accused a construction company carrying out restoration works of gross negligence, leading to the arrest of two directors and an engineering consultant on manslaughter allegations.
Authorities suspect that construction materials used on the exterior of the government-subsidised housing, including plastic cloths, netting, and styrofoam blocks, did not meet safety standards. Construction experts also pointed to bamboo scaffolding and flammable green mesh that acted as a highway for flames, trapping hundreds inside. One resident described the mesh as behaving like liquid fire, dripping and spreading rapidly.
The tragedy has drawn comparisons to London's Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which killed 72 people and was blamed on flammable cladding. Some Hong Kong residents hope this disaster will prompt a similar overhaul of safety regulations. Complaints have emerged that no fire alarms sounded and that workers were seen smoking on the bamboo scaffolding. A construction expert claimed he had repeatedly warned that the mesh was non-compliant.
Online, residents have expressed anger, questioning how a $330 million renovation could fail to use non-flammable materials. However, protests are tightly controlled in Hong Kong. The fire has already surpassed the death toll of a 1996 blaze that killed 41 and led to new fire standards. As recovery continues, the death toll is expected to rise, and authorities face public demands for action to prevent a recurrence.
