Hong Kong authorities pressed ahead on Monday (1 December) with combing the remaining apartment towers destroyed by a massive fire at a housing estate that killed at least 146 people and displaced hundreds.
Police have completed sweeps of four of the seven towers that were engulfed in the city's deadliest fire in more than 75 years, finding bodies of residents in stairwells and on rooftops, trapped as they tried to flee the flames.
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 (a half-mile) along a canal next to the doomed Wang Fuk Court estate on Sunday.
Vigils are also due to take place this week in Tokyo and London. Around 40 people are still missing, authorities said.
The cause of the blaze that started last Wednesday and quickly fanned across the exterior of the apartments under renovation is still being investigated.
But 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 has been detained, 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.
The remaining buildings to be scoured for remains are "the difficult ones", Amy Lam, a senior police official told reporters on Sunday, 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 Monday morning 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, authorities said.
With many residents leaving behind belongings as they fled, authorities have offered emergency funds of HK$10,000 ($1,284) to each household and provided special assistance for issuing new identity cards, passports and marriage certificates.
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.
Authorities have arrested 11 people as part of investigations into possible corruption and the use of unsafe materials during the renovations.
The building was wrapped in green mesh and bamboo scaffolding and layered with foam insulation at the time. Fire alarms at the complex were also not working properly, authorities have said.
Residents of Wang Fuk Court were told by authorities last year 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 spokesperson said.
Police on Saturday detained 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. Reuters could not establish whether he had been arrested.
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 warned individuals on Saturday (29 November) 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.”
The OSCE has formally wound up the Minsk Process, shutting down its mediation structures after a joint appeal from Armenia and Azerbaijan and a consen...
Security concerns across Central Asia have intensified rapidly after officials in Dushanbe reported a series of lethal incursions originating from Afg...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 1st of November, covering the latest developments you need to ...
Lithuania’s Vilnius airport temporarily halted operations due to suspected balloons in its airspace, the airport said on Sunday, marking the latest ...
Hong Kong authorities pressed ahead on Monday (1 December) with combing the remaining apartment towers destroyed by a massive fire at a housing estate...
More than 600 people have died and over 4 million have been affected after a rare tropical storm brought a week of heavy rain, floods and landslides to Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, as rescue teams struggle to reach isolated communities.
The death toll from floods and landslides following cyclonic rains in the Indonesian island of Sumatra has risen to 303, the head of the country's disaster mitigation agency said on Saturday, up from a previous figure of 174.
The death toll from devastating floods across Southeast Asia climbed to at least 183 people on Friday (28 November). Authorities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka struggle to rescue stranded residents, restore power and communications, and deliver aid to cut-off communities.
Floods and landslides brought about by torrential rain in Indonesia's North Sumatra province have killed at least 28 people by Thursday, with rescue efforts hampered by what an official described as a "total cut-off" of roads and communications.
U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he had spoken with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, but did not provide details on what the two leaders discussed.
Kazakhstan has called on Ukraine to stop striking the Black Sea terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) after a major drone attack forced a halt to exports and caused serious damage to loading equipment.
Venezuela's government condemned Trump's comments in a statement posted on Saturday afternoon (November 29), describing them as a "colonialist threat" against the country's sovereignty and incompatible with international law.
Palestinian group Hamas continues its patient approach to maintain it despite provocations, says Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Venezuela’s National Assembly has announced the formation of a special commission to investigate a series of deadly U.S. military strikes targeting suspected drug trafficking boats off the Venezuelan coast and in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Security concerns across Central Asia have intensified rapidly after officials in Dushanbe reported a series of lethal incursions originating from Afghan soil, marking a significant escalation in border violence.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 1st of November, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Lithuania’s Vilnius airport temporarily halted operations due to suspected balloons in its airspace, the airport said on Sunday, marking the latest in a series of flight disruptions in the Baltic nation.
A Bangladesh court sentenced British parliamentarian and former minister Tulip Siddiq to two years in jail in a corruption case involving the alleged illegal allocation of a plot of land, local media reported.
Moscow and Kyiv painted very different pictures of the battlefield on Sunday, each insisting momentum was on their side as the fighting around Pokrovsk intensified.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment