The toll of a devastating fire in a Hong Kong apartment complex rose dramatically on Friday. The authorities have already confirmed 128 victims, while another 200 people are still missing and 79 have been injured. Firefighters managed to extinguish the fire after 40 hours.
The death toll from a fire at an apartment complex in Hong Kong rose to 128 on Friday morning, with 200 people still missing and 79 injured, including 12 firefighters. The local government said the fire appeared to have started on a safety net on a lower floor and then spread due to the use of flammable materials. TASR informs about it according to the AFP agency.
- The fire in Hong Kong hit an apartment complex, the number of victims rose to 128.
- The fire spread quickly due to flammable materials and bamboo scaffolding.
- The alarm systems were not working properly.
- It is the worst fire in Hong Kong since 1948.
Bamboo scaffolding made the fire worse
“Based on the preliminary information we have, we believe the fire started on the mesh installed on the lower floors … and quickly spread upwards through the burning polystyrene sheets, affecting multiple floors,” Hong Kong security chief Chris Tang told a news conference.
“The high temperature also caused the bamboo scaffolding and safety net to catch fire. The bamboo poles that were broken by the fire fell and spread the fire to other floors,” he explained.
Residents of the burning building ran from door to door to warn neighbors
Fire Chief Andy Yeung previously reported that the alarm systems in all eight buildings were “not functioning properly.” “We will take enforcement action against the responsible suppliers,” he said at a press conference. AFP recalls that residents of the burning building ran from door to door to warn neighbors.
The police have so far detained two directors and a technical consultant of Prestige Construction, which was contracted to maintain the buildings.
The blaze broke out on Wednesday afternoon and is Hong Kong’s deadliest blaze since 1948. Firefighters said on Friday morning that they had “largely extinguished” it after 40 hours.
