Hong Kong officials said Monday that the protective netting that covered scaffolding around buildings that caught on fire last week in a massive blaze did not meet codes for fire resistance, as a wave of public sympathy and support was met by government moves to stifle criticism. Chris Tang, Hong Kong's Secretary for Security, said samples of the netting were taken from multiple locations from the seven buildings that burned. Seven samples were found to be not up to standards, the AP reports. Initial tests had suggested the netting was up to standard, but investigators had not been able to check all of it earlier due to the blaze. "Because the fire is now out, we have been able to get to places that were not easily accessible before to take samples," Tang told reporters.
The fire broke out Wednesday afternoon at the the Wang Fuk Court complex in the suburb of Tai Po. It burned through seven of eight apartment towers, home to some 4,600 people, and took until Friday morning to extinguish. At least 146 people were killed, 79 injured, and thousands left homeless. Another 100 people are still unaccounted for. Donations for survivors of the fire had reached $115 million as of Monday, authorities said, as a steady stream of people placed flowers, cards and other tributes at a makeshift memorial near the burned out block of buildings. On Monday, Hong Kong authorities said teams were assessing the safety of the other buildings, including the one that caught fire first and suffered the worst damage.
The complex's buildings were all clad in bamboo scaffolding draped with nylon netting for external renovations. Windows were covered with polystyrene panels, and authorities are investigating if fire codes had been violated. Residents had complained for almost a year about the netting that covered the scaffolding, Hong Kong's Labor Department said. It confirmed officials had carried out 16 inspections of the renovation project since July 2024 and had warned contractors multiple times in writing that they had to meet fire safety requirements. The latest inspection was just a week before the fire.
Hong Kong's anti-corruption agency has arrested 11 people, including the directors and an engineering consultant of a construction company. A growing number of people have been questioning whether government officials should also be held responsible. But the leeway for dissent is limited in the former British colony, which came under Chinese control in 1997 and increasingly has moved to quiet public criticism on national security grounds. On Saturday, a man who helped organize an online petition calling for government accountability was arrested on suspicion of sedition, local media including HK01 and Sing Tao Daily reported. Two others were arrested on Sunday, including a volunteer who offered help in Tai Po after the fire broke out, the same outlets reported.
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