Fire Devours a Building in Hong Kong
A deadly fire erupted in a public housing apartement block in the Tai Po district, in Hong Kong. The 32 floor building set ablaze on November 26, resulting in a high level of injuries and nearly 300 missing. The fire is the most serious incident recorded for the last 60 years. The tragedy unfolded at 14:51 local time.
The block of flats was originally built in 1983 and it was being renovated at the time of the fire. It housed more than 4,000 people and was undergoing major reworks. Investigations have been launched, with three men, the company bosses, already arrested on suspicious of manslaughter. The occurence uncovered possible oversights in how the construction company operated on site. Two directors and an engineering consultant were accused of using unsafe materials - the scaffolding on the building was bamboo and the structure was covered in green mesh. Police superintendent, Eileen Chung, stated that “We have reason to believe that the company’s responsible parties were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties.” Seven out of eight buildings in the complex were on fire and they were burning for almost two days. Evacuees proceeded to set matresses in front of nearby shops and evacuation centres opened their doors to those with greater needs.
The deadliest fire since 1948 sparked further frustrations from the citizens of Hong Kong. Many commented on how the alarm wasn't raised on time and there was continous complaining about how smoke alarms were switched of by workers who often smoked near bamboo scaffolding structures.
Negligence, carelessness and malpractice may be the real reasons for the unfolding tragedy.