Hong Kong — Because the confirmed demise toll from the Hong Kong condo complicated hearth climbed to no less than 151 on Monday, officers stated their investigation into the blaze had discovered that mesh used to cowl scaffolding for ongoing renovations was lower than fire-safety codes.
Frustration over what seems to have been clear security lapses forward of the devastating hearth — which took greater than two days to extinguish because it engulfed seven of the complicated’s eight towers — was being met with authorities strikes to stifle criticism.
Preliminary checks of the netting that had enshrouded the scaffolding confirmed it met security laws, however Hong Kong officers stated Monday that investigators had since gained entry to extra areas to gather samples, together with from increased flooring.
Hong Kong Chief Secretary Eric Chan stated seven of the 20 new samples of the artificial mesh had failed hearth security requirements, suggesting contractors could have opted for cost-saving over the security of residents and staff.
“They just wanted to make money at the expense of people’s lives,” Chan advised reporters.
Thick smoke and flames rise as a significant hearth engulfs a number of condo blocks on the Wang Fuk Court docket residential property in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, Nov. 26, 2025.
Yan Zhao/AFP/Getty
Restoration groups discovered one other eight our bodies, together with these of three firefighters positioned earlier however which staff had been unable to retrieve, Tsang Shuk-yin, head of the Hong Kong police’s casualty enquiry unit advised reporters on Monday. She stated greater than 30 folks have been nonetheless listed as lacking, however some have been doubtless among the many practically 40 units of stays recovered however but to be recognized.
“We will have to wait until we get through all seven blocks before we can make a final report,” she stated, including that some stays have been doubtless so badly burned that identification may show unimaginable.
About 4,600 folks lived within the eight buildings of the Wang Fuk Court docket complicated, which is within the Hong Kong suburb of Tai Po, not removed from the border with mainland China.
Monday was to be the final day of an official mourning interval declared by authorities, and hundreds of individuals turned out to pay their respects, laying flowers, toys and notes for the victims, lots of whom the place kids and the aged.
Individuals lay flowers in entrance of the Wang Fuk Court docket within the aftermath of the lethal hearth in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, Nov. 30, 2025 in Hong Kong, China.
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Police have launched pictures from contained in the charred buildings, the place they discovered the our bodies of residents who had tried to flee the inferno in stairwells and on rooftops.
Anger has mounted in Hong Kong for the reason that hearth erupted on Wednesday morning final week. It had already been revealed that the hearth alarms have been turned off within the complicated, and for months, residents had issued warnings about what they believed to be hazardous supplies overlaying the buildings throughout the renovation.
As of Monday, 14 folks had been arrested for suspected manslaughter, and authorities weren’t ruling out additional arrests.
Police preserve watch exterior the Wang Fuk Court docket condo blocks within the aftermath of the lethal hearth in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, Dec. 1, 2025.
Peter PARKS/AFP/Getty
The extent of public angst has rattled Beijing, to the extent that the central authorities issued a warning to Hong Kongers towards any protests or utilizing the hearth to “disrupt” life within the metropolis.
The warning drew parallels to the crackdown on pro-democracy protests that paralyzed town in 2019.
Three folks had been arrested on Monday beneath a sweeping nationwide safety legislation imposed within the wake of these protests. Their lawyer says they have been detained for beginning a petition calling for an unbiased inquiry into the hearth — an indication of how involved Beijing is that the tragedy may result in contemporary civil unrest within the beforehand semi-autonomous southern metropolis.
Tucker Reals
contributed to this report.
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