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A huge fire still burning in a Hong Kong apartment complex that has killed at least 55 people and left nearly 300 missing may have been caused by a "grossly negligent" construction firm using unsafe materials, police said on Thursday.
Almost a full day after the fire began, firefighters were struggling to reach residents potentially trapped on the upper floors of the Wang Fuk Court housing complex due to intense heat and thick smoke from the blaze that erupted on Wednesday afternoon.
The tightly packed complex in the northern Tai Po district has 2,000 apartments in eight blocks that are home to more than 4,600 people in a city struggling with chronic shortages of affordable housing.
“We bought in this building more than 20 years ago. All of our belongings were in this building, and now that it has all burned like this, what’s left? asked a 51-year-old resident with the surname Wan.
"There’s nothing left. What are we supposed to do?”
A woman surnamed Ng, 52, was distraught as she searched for her daughter outside a shelter.
"She and her father are still not out yet. They didn’t have water to save our building," she sobbed, carrying her daughter's graduation photo.
Video from the scene showed flames leaping from at least two of the 32-storey towers sheathed in green construction mesh and bamboo scaffolding.
The fire was still burning on Thursday afternoon, more than 24 hours after it started. Authorities said they had brought the blaze in four of seven blocks under control, with operations continuing in three.
Bamboo scaffolding is a mainstay of traditional Chinese architecture but has been subject to a phase-out in Hong Kong since March for safety reasons.
THREE ARRESTED
Police officers searched the housing estate's building maintenance company on Thursday morning, seizing documents that mention Wang Fuk Court, local media reported. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"We have reason to believe that the company’s responsible parties were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties," said Eileen Chung, a Hong Kong police superintendent.
Three men from the construction company, two directors and one engineering consultant, had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over the fire, she added.
Police said in addition to the buildings being covered with protective mesh sheets and plastic that may not meet fire standards, they discovered some windows on one unaffected building were sealed with a foam material, installed by a construction company carrying out year-long maintenance work.
A firefighter was among the 55 killed with dozens in hospital in critical condition, Hong Kong authorities said on Thursday afternoon. Around 279 people remain uncontactable.
Chung said 900 residents were spread across eight shelters.
Indonesia's foreign ministry said on Thursday that two Indonesian migrant workers "in the domestic sector" died in the fire and two others were injured.
The death toll is now the highest in a Hong Kong fire since 1948, when 176 people were killed in a warehouse blaze.
"The priority is to extinguish the fire and rescue the residents who are trapped," Hong Kong Hong Kong's corruption body said it has launched an investigation into suspected corruption related to the renovation. Lee told reporters. "The second is to support the injured. The third is to support and recover. Then, we'll launch a thorough investigation."
SEARCHING FOR RELATIVES
Harry Cheung, 66, who has lived at Block Two in one of the complexes for more than 40 years, said he heard a loud noise at about 2:45 p.m. (0645 GMT) and saw fire erupt in a nearby block.
"I immediately went back to pack up my things," he said.
"I don't even know how I feel right now. I'm just thinking about where I'm going to sleep tonight."
Another long-time resident, a woman surnamed Chu, said she still had not been able to contact her friends who live in the next block. After staying over at a friend's place on Wednesday night, the 70-year-old came back to see her home still burning.
"We don't know what to do," she said.
An online app showed missing persons reports submitted through a linked Google document that detailed residents of individual towers and rooms.
It includes descriptions like "Mother-in-law in her 70s, missing" or "one boy and one girl" or "Rooftop: 33-year-old male."
One description simply says "27th floor, room 1: He is dead." Reuters could not independently verify the information on the app.
The fire has prompted comparisons to the Grenfell Tower inferno that killed 72 people in London in 2017. That fire was blamed on firms fitting the exterior with flammable cladding, as well as failings by the government and the construction industry.
"Our hearts go out to all those affected by the horrific fire in Hong Kong," the Grenfell United survivors' group said on social media. "To the families, friends and communities, we stand with you. You are not alone."
CHINA'S XI URGES 'ALL-OUT' EFFORT AGAINST FIRE
Many residents took to social media to criticise what they saw as negligence and cost-cutting as a cause of the fire. One video showed several construction workers smoking on the bamboo scaffolding surrounding one of the complex's blocks during the renovation process.
From the mainland, China's President Xi Jinping urged an "all-out effort" to extinguish the fire and to minimise casualties and losses, China's state broadcaster CCTV said.
Hong Kong's Transport Department said that a number of roads would remain closed in the area on Thursday morning and 39 bus routes have been diverted, while nearby schools have been closed.
Hong Kong's sky-high property prices have long been a trigger for social discontent in the city and the fire tragedy could further stoke resentment towards authorities ahead of a city-wide legislative election in early December.
Wang Fuk Court is one of many high-rise housing complexes in Hong Kong, one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Tai Po, located near the border with mainland China, is an established suburban district with some 300,000 residents.
Occupied since 1983, the complex is under the government's subsidised home ownership scheme, according to property agency websites. According to online posts, it has been undergoing renovations for a year at a cost of HK$330 million ($42.43 million), with each unit paying between HK$160,000 and HK$180,000.
Hong Kong's corruption body said it has launched an investigation into suspected corruption related to the renovation.
($1 = 7.7779 Hong Kong dollars)