Construction firm bosses arrested as Hong Kong fire toll hits 83

Hong Kong police arrested the bosses of a construction company on suspicion of manslaughter on Thursday over the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years, which killed at least 83 people with about 300 still listed as missing.

Firefighters had mostly doused the blaze that tore through the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in the northern district of Tai Po, which had been undergoing renovations and was wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh.

Rescuers battled intense heat and thick smoke for more than a day as they fought to reach residents feared trapped on the upper floors. Video showed firefighters with flashlights searching through the charred remains of the towers on Thursday night.

A distraught woman carrying her daughter's graduation photograph searched for her child outside a shelter, one of eight that authorities said are housing 900 residents.

"She and her father are still not out yet," said the 52-year-old, who gave only her surname, Ng, as she sobbed. "They didn't have water to save our building."

Firefighters work as efforts are underway to extinguish flames engulfing bamboo scaffolding across multiple buildings at the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po. Reuters

Police arrested two directors and an engineering consultant of Prestige Construction, a firm contracted to perform maintenance on the buildings. Police said those arrested were under suspicion of manslaughter for using unsafe materials.

"We have reason to believe that the company's responsible parties were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties," police superintendent Eileen Chung said. Prestige did not answer repeated calls for comment.

Police seized bidding documents, a list of employees, 14 computers and three mobile phones in a raid of the company's office, the government added.

The confirmed death toll rose to 83 as of midnight in Hong Kong on Thursday, the South China Morning Post reported, citing the fire department. That made it Hong Kong's deadliest fire since 1948, when 176 people were killed in a warehouse blaze.

In a telegram to Hong Kong's bishop, Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-Yan, Pope Leo sent "spiritual solidarity to all those suffering from the effects of this calamity, especially the injured and the families who grieve".

Hong Kong's leader, John Lee, said the government would set up a HK$300 million ($39 million) fund to help residents while companies including automakers Xiaomi, Xpeng and Geely as well as the charity foundation of Alibaba's founder Jack Ma and Tencent announced donations.

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire which broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories, on Wednesday. AP

On the second night after the blaze, dozens of evacuees set up mattresses in a nearby mall, with many saying official evacuation centres should be saved for those with greater need.

People - from elderly residents to schoolchildren - wrapped themselves in duvets and huddled in tents outside a McDonald's restaurant and convenience shops as a steady stream of volunteers handed out snacks and toiletries.

The eight blocks of the tightly-packed complex of 2,000 apartments were home to more than 4,600 people in the financial hub, which is struggling to overcome chronic shortages of affordable housing.

Police also said they found foam material sealing windows on one unaffected building, installed in year-long maintenance work.

The city's development bureau has discussed gradually replacing bamboo scaffolding with metal scaffolding as a safety measure.

Fire trucks and rescue vehicles line a road during a major fire at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate (background) in Hong Kong's Tai Po district. AFP

China's President Xi Jinping urged an "all-out effort" to extinguish the fire and minimise casualties and losses, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The leadership of both the Hong Kong government and China's Communist Party moved quickly to show they attached utmost importance to a tragedy seen as a potential test of Beijing's grip on the semi-autonomous region.

Hong Kong's sky-high property prices have long been a trigger for discontent and the tragedy could stoke resentment towards authorities despite efforts to tighten political and national security control.

An online app showed reports of missing persons submitted through a linked Google document that detailed residents of individual towers and rooms.

It includes descriptions such as "Mother-in-law in her 70s, missing" or "one boy and one girl" or "Rooftop: 33-year-old male."

One simply read: "27th floor, room 1: He is dead."

Reuters could not independently verify the information on the app.

Smoke rises after a fire broke out at Wang Fuk Court, a residential estate in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong's New Territories on Wednesday. AP

The fire has prompted comparisons to London's Grenfell Tower inferno, which killed 72 people in 2017. That fire was blamed on firms fitting the exterior with flammable cladding, as well as failings by the government and the construction industry.

Hong Kong, one of the world's most densely populated cities, is scattered with high-rise housing complexes. Tai Po, near the border with mainland China, is an established suburban district and home to about 300,000.

Occupied since 1983, the complex is under a government-subsidised home ownership scheme, according to property agency websites, a lifeline for the city's middle-income families.

Reuters