Fire that killed at least 44 burns in Hong Kong towers for a second day
HONG KONG AP Firefighters battled one of Hong Kong s deadliest modern blazes for a second day Thursday fighting to control the fire that blackened several high-rise towers and killed at least people Three men from a construction company were arrested and rescues were continuing Thick smoke still poured out of the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po district a northern suburb near the edge with the mainland around midday Thursday The fire that started midafternoon Wednesday had spread across seven of the complex s eight buildings and four of the towers were under control by morning the city s fire services commented One firefighter was among the people approved dead officers declared At least people were injured countless suffering from burn and inhalation injuries Three men the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter Police have not directly named the company where they work We have reason to believe that those in charge of the construction company were grossly negligent mentioned Eileen Chung a senior superintendent of police Police on Thursday also searched the office of Prestige Construction Engineering Company which The Associated Press validated was in charge of renovations in the tower complex Police seized boxes of documents as evidence according to local media Phones for Prestige rang unanswered Bureaucrats suspected a few materials on the exterior walls of the high-rise buildings did not meet fire resistance standards allowing the unusually fast spread of the fire Police also revealed they unveiled Styrofoam which is highly flammable attached to the windows on each floor near the elevator lobby of the one unaffected tower It was deduced to have been installed by the construction company but the purpose was not clear Secretary for Protection Chris Tang announced they would investigate the materials further The fire started on the external scaffolding of a -story tower then spread on the bamboo scaffolding and construction netting to the inside of the building and then to the other buildings likely aided by windy conditions Firefighters aimed water at the intense flames from high on ladder trucks but conditions for fighting the fire and rescuing people remained challenging The temperature inside the buildings concerned is very high It s formidable for us to enter the building and go upstairs to conduct firefighting and rescue operations Derek Armstrong Chan deputy director of Fire Function operations declared Firefighters disclosed the operation could last until at least Thursday evening The housing complex consisted of eight buildings with almost apartments for about residents including several older people It was built in the s and had been undergoing a major renovation About people were evacuated to temporary shelters overnight and Hong Kong leader John Lee explained around midnight that contact had been lost with people Rescues were continuing but an updated figure wasn t available by midday Thursday Resident Lawrence Lee was waiting for news about his wife who was still trapped in their apartment When the fire started I informed her on the phone to escape But once she left the flat the corridor and stairs were all filled with smoke and it was all dark so she had no choice but to go back to the flat he commented as he waited in one of the shelters overnight Winter and Sandy Chung who lived in one of the towers stated sparks flew around them as they evacuated last night Although they were safe they were worried about their home I couldn t sleep the entire night Winter Chung notified the AP on Thursday John Lee explained the leadership will prioritize the tragedy and halt promotion for the Dec elections for the Legislative Council the city s legislature He didn t say if the elections could be delayed but noted decisions would come a scant days later Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressed condolences to the firefighter who died and extended sympathies to the families of the casualties according to state broadcaster CCTV He also urged efforts to minimize casualties and losses The fire was the deadliest in Hong Kong in decades In November people died in a commercial building in Kowloon in a fire that lasted for around hours Wu announced from Bangkok Researcher Shihuan Chen in Beijing contributed to this record Source
