Hong Kong authorities say the death toll from the apartment complex fire has risen to 128 after more bodies were found, reports the AP. Many more people are still at large.
हांगकांग के अपार्टमेंट कॉम्प्लेक्स में लगी आग में मरने वालों की संख्या बढ़कर 128 हुई
Firefighters continued to battle a massive fire at a multi-story residential complex in Hong Kong for a second consecutive day on Thursday. The death toll has risen to 83, with more than 280 people still missing. Officials described it as the city’s worst tragedy in 70 years.
Officials reported that approximately 76 people were injured, 43 of them critically. One firefighter was among the dead. Several people are still trapped in the buildings. The massive fire that engulfed four of the seven blocks has been brought under control, while the upper floors of the remaining 31-story buildings continued to blaze on Thursday evening. According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, massive rescue operations are underway, and trapped residents are still being evacuated.
The exact cause of the fire that broke out on Wednesday at the Wang Fuk Court complex, located in the northern suburb of Tai Po district, bordering Hong Kong, is still unknown, and a criminal investigation has been launched. City officials say more than 280 people are still missing. They reported that seven buildings, each 32 stories high, were completely destroyed.
The Hong Kong government has announced HK$300 million (about US$43 million) in relief for the affected people. Hundreds of displaced residents have been relocated to temporary shelters. Built in 1983, the Wang Fuk Court complex in the Tai Po district consists of eight multi-story buildings housing 1,984 flats. According to the 2021 census, these buildings house approximately 4,600 people.
According to China’s state-run news agency, Xinhua, the Hong Kong Police Force said at a press conference on Thursday that three men have been arrested in connection with the fire. The three men arrested by the police are executives of the construction company responsible for installing these materials during the buildings’ renovation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed condolences over the massive fire that broke out in the residential building on Wednesday night and directed authorities to make all-out efforts to extinguish the fire. According to Xinhua, Xi instructed the Hong Kong and Macao Office and Liaison Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to provide all-out assistance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in extinguishing the fire, making all-out efforts in search and rescue, and treating the injured.
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