Three Arrested for Manslaughter in Hong Kong's Deadliest Fire in Decades

TaiwanPlus News

Thousands may be left homeless after an eight-building apartment complex in Hong Kong's Tai Po District caught fire Wednesday afternoon. Over 40 people, including a firefighter, have died, and hundreds are still missing. The complex was home to over 4,000 residents, many of them elderly people. Authorities suspect flammable construction materials may have caused the fire and have opened an investigation.

Transcript

00:00As morning breaks in Hong Kong, firefighters continue to fight the remaining blaze at this

00:05high-rise apartment complex in the city's Taipo district. The fire, which broke out on Wednesday

00:10afternoon, has killed dozens of people, including one firefighter. Hundreds are still missing.

00:16The eight-tower complex was home to over 4,000 people, many of them aged 65 and above. The fire

00:22raged all night as residents watched on, anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones.

00:27One neighbor said he still could not find his wife. I know someone who has young children and

00:33elderly in their family. I called him and he said he was still trapped inside the building.

00:38The cause of the fire is unknown, but police say the blaze's quick spread could be because of

00:42flammable materials used in maintenance work. Two directors of the construction company and

00:47a consultant have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

00:52We have reason to believe that the company's responsible parties were

00:56grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably,

01:01resulting in major casualties. The 32-story towers were covered in bamboo scaffolding for

01:07government-mandated maintenance. Flammable foam construction materials were also found on the

01:11outside of every floor. One former district counselor who lived in the apartment complex for 30 years

01:16said having all the towers under construction at once was irregular.

01:20So in our experience, we will do one by one and to save more money because when you do it all

01:28together, then you need many workers at the same time. And also, it will affect all the people

01:36of all the buildings. So actually, we will do it one by one and try to do it part by part.

01:44With hundreds of residents still missing, Hong Kong leader John Lee said that over 800 emergency

01:49personnel had been dispatched to the scene. In a post on social media, Taiwan's president

01:54Lai Qingde sent his condolences to Hong Kong and a wish for the missing residents to be found safe.

02:00On Wednesday night, Chinese leader Xi Jinping urged an all-out rescue effort,

02:04setting aside US$282,000 for Red Cross assistance. And major Chinese businesses like Xiaomi and Tencent

02:11have donated over US$6 million for relief efforts.

02:18Some 900 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters, and many more may be left homeless due

02:24to the densely populated city's housing shortage. With hospitals treating dozens in critical or

02:28serious condition, the death toll is expected to rise, with many still wondering who is to blame

02:34for the city's deadliest fire in decades.

02:36Joseph Wu and Tiffany Wong for Taiwan Plus.

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