Firefighters continue, this Thursday (27), to fight a fire in a complex of residential buildings in Hong Kong. The tragedy has already left at least 55 people dead, in addition to 71 injured. Another 279 remained missing as of midnight today (local time) and around 900 people had to be moved to temporary shelters overnight.
According to the force, the firefighting operation could last at least until the end of this Thursday. Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressed condolences to the deceased firefighter and expressed solidarity with the victims’ families, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He also called for efforts to minimize the number of victims and damage.
What happened
; In four of them the flames are already under control. The fire started on bamboo scaffolding erected for renovations and spread quickly around the buildings.
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See images moments after the fire:
What caused the fire?
Authorities suspect that some materials in the buildings’ exterior walls did not meet fire resistance standards, allowing the flames to spread quickly. Police also reported finding highly flammable Styrofoam fixed to the windows of each floor, near the elevator hall of the only tower that was not hit.
Suspects detained
On Wednesday (26), three men were arrested for manslaughter. On Thursday, police searched the office of Prestige Construction & Engineering Company, responsible for the renovations, in the complex and seized boxes of documents as evidence, according to local media. Later this Thursday, authorities must carry out inspections of all housing complexes in the city that are under renovation to ensure that scaffolding and construction materials meet safety standards.
Biggest fire in almost 30 years
The residential complex had around 4,800 residents, including many elderly people. Built in the 1980s, the building was undergoing major renovations.
This was the deadliest fire to hit Hong Kong territory in decades. In November 1996, 41 people died in a Kowloon office building in a fire that lasted about 20 hours.
(with Estadão Conteúdo)
