At the least 44 individuals have died after Hong Kong’s worst hearth in 63 years tore by means of a number of high-rise buildings on Wednesday afternoon, officers mentioned.
Firefighters are nonetheless combating the blaze within the Tai Po neighbourhood, and attempting to succeed in people who find themselves trapped inside.
By early Thursday morning, officers mentioned that they had introduced the hearth in 4 buildings beneath management, however firefighters had been nonetheless engaged on three others greater than 16 hours after the blaze began.
Here’s what to know:
What occurred in Hong Kong?
An house complicated in Hong Kong’s Tai Po neighbourhood caught hearth at about 2:51pm (06:51 GMT) native time on Wednesday.
The fireplace started on the bamboo scaffolding outdoors one of many buildings. The sort of scaffolding, created from bamboo poles utilized by staff throughout repairs, burns very simply. As soon as the scaffolding caught hearth, the flames shortly unfold up the construction and into the constructing, after which to close by towers.
The blocks had been additionally wrapped in inexperienced building netting all the best way to the rooftops resulting from ongoing renovation work, which additionally caught hearth, serving to it unfold quicker.
In keeping with native media, the hearth intensified quickly: By 3:34pm (07:34 GMT), it had reached a stage 4 alarm, and by 6:22pm (10:22 GMT), it had reached a stage 5 alarm – the best alert stage in Hong Kong.
The blaze is Hong Kong’s deadliest hearth since a minimum of August 1962, when a fireplace within the metropolis’s Sham Shui Po district killed 44 individuals. A fireplace on the Garley Constructing on Nathan Street in Kowloon killed 41 individuals and injured 81 others in November 1996.
Since Monday, Hong Kong has been beneath a heightened hearth alert as dry climate circumstances made the chance of fireplace extraordinarily excessive.
The place did the hearth begin?
The fireplace began at Wang Fuk Court docket, a housing property in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district.
The complicated, in-built 1983, consists of eight high-rise buildings with a complete of 1,984 flats. In keeping with native media reports, seven of the buildings had been affected by the hearth. Of these, 4 have since been introduced beneath management.
Tai Po is a suburb of Hong Kong close to the border with mainland China, and is residence to roughly 300,000 residents. It’s a part of the federal government’s subsidised home-ownership scheme.
Property data present that Wang Fuk Court docket has been present process main renovation work, costing about $42.43m.
How did the hearth unfold so shortly, and what precipitated it?
The fireplace unfold in a short time as a result of it began on the bamboo scaffolding across the constructing and unfold to the inexperienced netting overlaying the constructions.
Each the bamboo and the inexperienced netting burn simply, so as soon as they caught hearth, the flames shot up the skin of the tower and reached many flooring.
Burning items then fell and set close by buildings on hearth inside minutes. Wind and open areas from the renovation work seemingly made the flames develop even quicker.
Whereas the precise trigger continues to be being investigated, officers say the flammable scaffolding, constructing supplies, and the tall, intently packed towers all helped the hearth get uncontrolled.
Police additionally mentioned they discovered mesh and different protecting supplies on the skin of the buildings that didn’t look like fireproof, in addition to styrofoam supplies on the home windows.
“We now have cause to imagine that these in cost on the firm had been grossly negligent, which led to this accident and precipitated the hearth to unfold uncontrollably, leading to main casualties,” Eileen Chung, senior superintendent on the Hong Kong Police Drive, mentioned.
Officers have arrested two administrators and an engineering marketing consultant, aged between 52 and 68, of a building firm.
Chung mentioned police arrested them within the Tai Po, Ngau Tau Kok, and San Po Kong districts at about 2am on Thursday (18:00 GMT, Wednesday).
How many individuals died or are lacking?
Authorities have confirmed the deaths of 44 individuals, together with a firefighter. About 279 residents are nonetheless unaccounted for. As of 8am (00:00 GMT), a minimum of 66 individuals had been admitted to hospital, the Hong Kong Hospital Authority told CNN. Of these, 17 had been in crucial situation, and 24 had been listed as critical.
4 individuals died in hospital. About 900 individuals have sought shelter in group centres.
What’s the newest on the bottom?
It’s now 9:42am (01:42 GMT) in Hong Kong, and in response to native experiences, firefighters are nonetheless combating the blaze.
Earlier, the South China Morning Put up reported that Derek Armstrong Chan, the deputy director of fireplace companies, mentioned excessive warmth had prevented firefighters from accessing some upper-floor residences. He added that crews would “maintain attempting” to succeed in them.
He additionally mentioned that the “particles and scaffolding of the affected constructing are falling down, posing further hazard to our frontline personnel”.
In a single day, he mentioned, it was darkish, and that made the rescue and firefighting operation “tougher”.
“Within the midnights, it would pose further hazard and difficulties to our operation, and as much as this second, the temperature inside the hearth scene continues to be very excessive. So, we have now difficulties continuing to higher flooring of two of the buildings.”
The Hong Kong Fireplace Companies Division mobilised greater than 1,200 hearth and ambulance personnel to the location, officers mentioned. Some within the space have returned to work and college.
