Hong Kong begins 3 days of mourning after deadly fire kills 128, with 200 missing

ANKARA

Hong Kong on Saturday began a three-day mourning period to honor the victims of the city’s deadliest fire in decades, which killed 128 people, with 200 still missing, according to local media reports.

Chief Executive John Lee, along with principal officials, members of the Executive Council, and civil servants, gathered at the government headquarters in the morning to observe a three-minute silence, South China Morning Post reported.

National and regional flags at all government buildings will remain at half-mast during the mourning period.

Rescue operations continued for the fourth day, although the fires in the blocks of the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex have been brought under control.

So far, 128 people died and 79 were injured, while the status of 200 people remains unclear, according to the daily.

The fire broke out at around noon on Wednesday in the complex, which consists of more than 1,900 apartments, and spread rapidly due to bamboo scaffolding installed on the exterior for renovation work.

The complex consists of eight towers with an estimated population of over 4,000 residents.

Police have detained two directors and an engineering consultant from Prestige Construction & Engineering Company on suspicion of manslaughter.

Authorities say the bamboo scaffolding erected for renovations and the foam plastic materials covering the windows contributed significantly to the rapid spread of the fire.

On Friday, around 800 affected residents moved to hostels, hotels, and transitional flats.

For the first time in 17 years, Hong Kong issued a Level-5 fire alarm, the highest on the city’s five-tier scale.