Health & Environment

The deadly fire at Tai Po Wang Fuk Court was put out at 10:18 am today, after 43 hours of firefighting, said Tang Ping-keung, Secretary for Security. Tang said at least 128 people were killed and 79 people were injured. 108 victims were found dead at the scene, with four more dying after being taken to the hospital, and 16 severely burned bodies recovered inside the building.  “Firefighting and rescue operations have now been completed. However the interior temperature remains at 200°C and teams are cooling the structure for further inspection,” he said. A total of 30 victims have been identified, about half from inside their flats. More than 40 other bodies require forensic confirmation, and 89 sets of remains are still unidentified. Authorities have received 467 missing-person reports, with many duplicated submissions. Of those, 39 were confirmed dead, 30 injured, and 110 were located safe. Tang said the fire is believed to have started in Wang Cheung House, where highly flammable foam panels at height allowed flames to shoot upward and spread rapidly.  “Burning fragments carried embers to higher floors, windows shattered in extreme heat and bamboo scaffolding ignited, causing additional floors to burn,” he said. Tang added the interior temperatures reached about 500 degrees Celsius, calling a halt to firefighters from advancing. The Security Secretary said the police have arrested three senior staff members of renovation company Prestige Construction & Engineering Co Limited for alleged manslaughter, seizing 14 computers and documents in the operation. A full investigation will be conducted and is expected to take three to four weeks.  A fire alarm test was conducted yesterday. Despite the alarms being on, they were silent, said Andy Yeung Yan-kin, director of the Fire Service Department, adding that a follow-up investigation will be carried. Regarding online claims about firefighting tactics, …

The death toll in Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court blaze has risen to 83, including one firefighter, the Fire Services Department said. Lam Cheuk-ho, assistant chief ambulance officer (New Territories West) told reporters at a briefing that 155 casualties were handled and admitted to the hospital. Among the casualties, 79 people were confirmed fatality at the scene and four people admitted to the hospital but died. 76 injured people were taken to the hospital for treatment. 11 fire personnel were injured in the operation and in stable condition, and one personnel died in the line of duty. 177 ambulances were deployed in the operation. The firefighting operation is almost complete, and is expected to be done by midnight, said Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director (operations) of the Fire Services Department. He said the fire service department is carrying out operations to four individual units at 1am today (Nov. 28). Water spray cooling is being carried out on units in other seven blocks to prevent reignition. Search and rescue operations will then proceed, including addressing 25 requests for assistance and conducting demolition work on all units in the seven affected buildings to ensure no one is trapped. Chan said the operation is expected to be completed by 9am tomorrow. Chan said casualties are mostly found in Wan Cheong House and Wan Tai House. Polymeric foam was found at the fire scene and the Fire Services Department will form a team on its impact on the fire. An investigation into effective operation of fire protection systems will also be conducted. “Difficulties in the operation included the fire spreading exceptionally rapidly to all the seven blocks, while debris and scaffolding falling from upper storeys, escalated the difficulties accessing affected buildings,” Chan said.  He added emergency vehicles were also blocked by falling debris and …

Mission for Migrant Workers, a non-profit organisation serving to support migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong, set up a booth to assist those affected by the level five fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Edwina Antonio, the representative of MFMW, said the NGO can help migrant workers who have lost their passports in the incident to contact their nation’s consulate directly. MFMW provides free shelter with food and necessities to accommodate displaced migrant workers. Antonio said until 10pm today (Nov. 27), only four migrant workers sought help from the NGO. “They do not know we are here, so we need to promote,” she said, adding that the booth will be operating from 10am to 9pm tomorrow (Nov. 28). The Indonesian Consulate General in Hong Kong said at least two Indonesian migrant workers have died in the blaze. Antonio said she was saddened by the incident, especially for the families of the deceased workers, as they have lost their breadwinners. As of 10pm today (Nov. 27), the fire has killed at least 75 people, according to the Fire Services Department.