Hong Kong arrests 13 for apartment tower fire as death toll rises to 151

HONG KONG – The authorities said on Dec 1 they have arrested 13 people over

Hong Kong’s deadliest fire

in decades after the blaze killed 151 people last week, a toll that could further rise.

The arrests were made on suspicion of manslaughter, as investigators work to piece together what led to the catastrophic fire taking hold so fast in a complex of high-rise apartments.

Officials have been looking at factors including the styrofoam panels and bamboo scaffolding use in a renovation project at the site.

Police have completed sweeps of four of the seven towers engulfed in the Nov 26 disaster at the Wang Fuk Court estate, finding bodies of residents in stairwells and on rooftops, trapped as they tried to flee the flames.

Around 40 people are still missing.

“Some of the bodies have turned into ash, therefore we might not be able to locate all missing individuals,” Mr Tsung Shuk Yin, a police official told reporters, choking up with emotion.

Tests on several samples of a green mesh that was wrapped around bamboo scaffolding on the buildings at the time of the blaze did not match fire-retardant standards, officials overseeing the investigations said at a news conference.

Contractors working on the renovations used these substandard materials in hard-to-reach areas, effectively hiding them from inspectors, said Chief Secretary Eric Chan.

Foam insulation used by contractors also fanned the flames, and fire alarms at the complex were not working properly, officials have said.

Thousands

have turned out to pay tribute

to the victims, who include at least nine domestic helpers from Indonesia and one from the Philippines, with lines of mourners stretching more than a kilometre along a canal next to the estate.

Vigils are also due to take place this week in Tokyo, London and Taipei.

Amid pockets of public anger over missed fire risk warnings and evidence of unsafe construction practices, Beijing has warned

it would crack down

on any “anti-China” protests.

At least one person involved in a petition calling for an independent probe, among other demands, was detained for around two days, sources familiar with the matter said.

Police have declined to comment on specifics, saying only that they will take action in accordance with the law.

Search moves to worst-hit buildings

The remaining buildings to be scoured for remains are “the difficult ones”, Ms Amy Lam, a senior police official, told reporters on Nov 20, adding that the final leg of the search may take weeks.

Images shared by police showed officers clad in hazmat suits, face masks and helmets, inspecting rooms with blackened walls and furniture reduced to ashes, and wading through water used to douse fires that raged for days.

Throngs of officers arrived at the site early on Dec 1 to continue their search of the burnt-out buildings.

The apartment blocks were home to more than 4,000 people, according to census data, and those that escaped must now try to get their lives back on track.

More than 1,100 people have been moved out of evacuation centres into temporary housing, with a further 680 put up in youth hostels and hotels.

With many residents leaving behind belongings as they fled, the authorities have offered emergency funds of HK$10,000 (S$1,660) to each household and provided special assistance for issuing new identity cards, passports and marriage certificates.

Deadliest blaze

Residents of Wang Fuk Court were told by the authorities in 2024 that they faced “relatively low fire risks” after complaining about fire hazards posed by the renovations, the city’s Labour Department said.

The residents raised concerns in September 2024, including about the potential flammability of the mesh contractors used to cover the scaffolding, a department spokesman said.

Hong Kong’s deadliest fire since 1948, when 176 people died in a warehouse blaze, has stunned the city, where legislative elections are due to be held this weekend.

On Nov 29,

police detained Mr Miles Kwan

, 24, part of a group that launched a petition demanding an independent probe into possible corruption and a review of construction oversight, two people familiar with the matter said.

Mr Kwan left a police station in a taxi in the afternoon on Dec 1, according to a Reuters witness.

Two others have also since been arrested on suspicion of seditious intent, the South China Morning Post said. The police declined to comment on those reported arrests.

China’s national security office has warned people against using the disaster to “plunge Hong Kong back into the chaos” of 2019, when massive pro-democracy protests challenged Beijing and triggered a political crisis.

“We sternly warn the anti-China disruptors who attempt to ‘disrupt Hong Kong through disaster’,” the office said in a statement. “No matter what methods you use, you will certainly be held accountable and strictly punished.” REUTERS