“The city is in shock. This morning, the silence is palpable”. Seven houses have been completely destroyed by fire. More than 2,000 apartments have been affected”, Father Paolo Ceruti, an Italian missionary with PIME, reported live from Hong Kong to SIR. Unfortunately, the news of the tragic fire that devastated a residential complex in the Tai Po district this morning indicates a rising death toll. According to the latest news confirmed by the fire brigade, 55 people have died (including four who died in hospital). “It is not yet known how many people were trapped inside, partly because most of the residents were elderly”, said the missionary.
(Foto p.Ceruti)
In a press briefing, the governor of the former British colony, John Lee, stated that the flames had already been brought under control yesterday “thanks to the tireless efforts of the fire brigade”. However, more than 270 people are missing and dozens are injured, including 45 in critical condition.
It was one of the worst accidents ever to hit Hong Kong.
It appears that, contrary to all expectations, the fire was fueled by the green wire mesh and bamboo scaffolding surrounding each building in the residential complex, which was undergoing renovation work.
Solidarity kicked in immediately from the very first hours. “People rushed to collect food and water to hand out to those affected”, says Father Paolo. “Some hotels made rooms available for those who had been displaced”- Legislative Council elections are scheduled for 7 December, and yesterday, speaking from the scene of the fire, the governor said that the priority now is to provide aid to those affected, with the possibility of postponing the vote. Instructions have now been given to units and departments to “carry out a comprehensive job”, including completely extinguishing the fire, rescuing trapped residents, treating the injured, providing assistance and emotional support to families, and conducting a thorough investigation into the causes of the accident, Lee told local media. Eileen Chung, superintendent of the Hong Kong Police Force, said that three men from the construction company responsible for renovating the apartments had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the fire.
(Foto p. Ceruti)
The missionary says that near the site of the fire, there is a parish dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The parish immediately made space available and many Catholics asked to pray for the victims and rescuers. Father Paolo explains that older buildings such as those that burned down have 30 floors, with eight to ten apartments per floor. The newer buildings can exceed 40 floors. All the buildings are constructed in identical blocks. The Wang Fuk Court residential complex comprised eight towers, seven of which were engulfed in flames. Firefighters struggled to extinguish the fire, and three buildings were still burning almost 24 hours later.
Each block of buildings is like a city with shops, restaurants and markets on the lower floors. It is claimed that around 4,000 people lived in the burned-out blocks.
Most apartments are small and consist of one or two bedrooms, so people usually only go home to sleep and often eat out or at work. Many elderly people lived in the burnt-down houses, often cared for by Filipino or Indonesian domestic helpers. The missionary also reports that “the buildings that burned down were undergoing renovation work on all the towers, which is why they were completely covered in scaffolding, which here is made from bamboo poles. An accident probably caused a fire to break out on the lower floors, and the whole building went up in flames, engulfing all the neighbouring buildings as well”.
The post Buildings on fire in Hong Kong. “The city is in shock and shrouded in silence”. The number of victims and missing persons is rising first appeared on AgenSIR.“It is an unprecedented disaster in Hong Kong”.