Hong Kong's leader, John Lee, has directed the formation of an autonomous task force to probe the origins of a tragic inferno that took a minimum of 151 people.
On Wednesday last week, seven of eight tower blocks at the Wang Fuk Court—that was in the midst of extensive renovations—were consumed by a blaze. Investigators have since found that construction site netting installed on the buildings did not comply with flame retardant standards.
At least 13 people have been arrested for alleged culpable homicide, comprising the senior figures of a construction company.
"Yes, it is a tragedy, it is a major blaze. Changes are required. Failures have been detected in different stages. This is precisely the reason we must take decisive action to make certain all these gaps are plucked," stated the leader.
The inferno—that propagated rapidly both upwards and across the separate towers—was not completely extinguished by the morning of Friday, approximately two days after it started, and necessitated more than 2,000 firefighters to subdue.
That very day, authorities started accessing the buildings to collect forensic material. Authorities say the investigation could require several weeks.
A number of occupants have stated they did not hear a smoke detector when the fire erupted. The city's fire department found that alarms in all eight blocks were malfunctioning.
The relevant regulatory body has temporarily suspended renovation projects on 30 private projects.
In a related development, officers took into custody a young man on suspicion of incitement on Saturday. He was involved with a gathering petitioning for an independent inquiry into the blaze. An internet-based appeal amassed more than 10,000 signatures in less than a day before its page was taken down.
A pair of additional persons, including a past council member, were also taken in by police, as reported by local media reports.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have both condemned the said apprehensions.
"Now is the time for the local government to thoroughly and publicly probe the reasons of the catastrophic blaze...as opposed to suppressing those who raise appropriate concerns," Amnesty International said.
The housing estate was built in the early 1980s and had provided close to 2,000 units for around 4,600 residents, per a 2021 government census.
Almost four in ten of its inhabitants are believed to be older than 65 years of age. Some have been occupants of the public housing complex since its construction.
Hong Kong's second-deadliest fire on in history claimed 176 individuals in 1948 and was triggered by a detonation at street level at a multi-story storage facility. The deadliest was at a local racetrack in 1918, when in excess of 600 attendees lost their lives.
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