At least 156 dead in apartment fire in Hong Kong
HONG KONG (NBC, KYMA) - Hong Kong police said at least 156 people were killed in the city's deadliest fire in decades Tuesday, with 15 people arrested for suspected manslaughter.
At an improvised memorial site, people shared their sadness and anger as uncomfortable questions are being raised over who is to blame for the city's deadliest blaze in decades.
As the territory mourns over the high-rise apartment fire, frustration is mounting over building safety lapses, suspected construction corruption and lax government oversight.
The fire broke out last Wednesday around scaffolding at the Wang Fuk Court Complex in the Tai Po District and spread to seven of the complex's eight towers.
They were home to more than 4,600 people and many have been left homeless.
About 30 people are still unaccounted for, according to police.
Police and the city's anti-corruption body have arrested 15 people so far in a wide-ranging probe into a multi-million dollar renovation project at Wang Fuk Court.
Those detained include scaffolding subcontractors, directors of a construction company and a consultancy, many of them on suspicion of manslaughter and gross negligence.
Responding to public pressure, the territory's chief executive, John Lee, said Tuesday an independent committee led by a judge will investigate the fire.
The initial investigation has focused on why the fire expanded so rapidly, overwhelming firefighting efforts.
Critics say bid-rigging and other collusion, inflated costs and a lack of transparency are common in hong kong projects.
Hong Kong, a former British colony that was handed to Chinese control in 1997, increasingly has cracked down on dissent and criticism of the government, which is deemed politically sensitive.
A sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 after a crackdown on massive pro-democracy protests already has effectively eliminated most public dissent.
So, Beijing's national security arm in hong kong and local officials moved quickly to stifle accusations of government negligence over the deadly blaze.
