Hong Kong’s chief mentioned an impartial committee shall be established to research the reason for town’s deadliest hearth in many years, which killed at the very least 151 individuals and left nearly 80 injured.
John Lee, the chief government of the Chinese language-administered area, pledged on Tuesday to beat vested pursuits and pursue accountability for the hearth, which ripped by means of seven tower blocks within the Wang Fuk Court docket housing complicated the place greater than 4,600 individuals lived within the metropolis’s Tai Po district.
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“With a view to keep away from comparable tragedies once more, I’ll arrange a judge-led impartial committee to look at the explanation behind the trigger and speedy spreading (of the hearth) and associated points,” Lee instructed reporters.
“We should uncover the reality, be sure that justice is served, let the deceased relaxation in peace and supply consolation to the dwelling,” he mentioned.
Requested by a reporter why he ought to proceed in his job after such a catastrophe had unfolded within the metropolis, Lee mentioned reform was wanted.
“Sure, we’ve got recognized failures in several levels. That’s precisely why we should act significantly to make sure that all these loopholes are plugged in order that those that are accountable shall be accountable,” Lee mentioned.
“The shortcomings shall be addressed. The bottlenecks shall be addressed and we’ll reform the entire constructing renovation system. To make sure that such issues is not going to occur once more,” he added.
The hearth began final Wednesday afternoon round scaffolding that had been arrange on the housing complicated for upkeep work on the high-rise buildings.
Authorities suspect excessive winds and substandard plastic mesh and insulation foam used through the renovations prompted the speedy unfold of the blaze, which overwhelmed firefighting efforts.
Lee mentioned these accountable for the renovations had combined substandard protecting netting with authorised netting “in order to cheat the inspection”. Fireplace alarms on the complicated have been additionally not working correctly, officers have mentioned.
Residents instructed of ‘comparatively low hearth dangers’
Investigators have accomplished their search and examination of all however two of the seven burned-out towers, discovering our bodies of residents in stairwells and on rooftops, trapped as they tried to flee the flames. About 30 persons are nonetheless lacking.
Hong Kong police have arrested 13 individuals for suspected manslaughter in a rising legal investigation into the hearth, whereas an anticorruption physique has arrested 12 individuals in probes associated to the tragedy.
Residents of Wang Fuk Court docket have been instructed by authorities final yr that they confronted “comparatively low hearth dangers” after complaining about hearth hazards posed by the renovations, town’s Labour Division mentioned, together with in regards to the potential flammability of the mesh that contractors used to cowl the scaffolding.
Exams on a number of samples of a inexperienced mesh that was wrapped round bamboo scaffolding on the buildings on the time of the blaze didn’t meet fire-retardant requirements, officers overseeing the investigations instructed a information convention on Monday.
Town’s Chief Secretary for Administration Eric Chan mentioned contractors engaged on the renovations had used substandard supplies in hard-to-reach areas, hiding them from inspectors.
Amid an enormous outpouring of grief within the metropolis in addition to requires accountability, native media have reported the arrests of a number of individuals who have been making this name.
Miles Kwan, a 24-year-old scholar, was reportedly arrested by police for “seditious intent” after handing out flyers demanding a authorities overview of development oversight within the metropolis. Kwan was launched on Monday, in accordance with stories. Two different individuals, together with a former district councillor, have been additionally taken in by police, in accordance with native media stories.
Hong Kong scholar Miles Kwan, 24, a part of a bunch that launched a petition demanding an impartial probe into doable corruption and a overview of development oversight over a lethal hearth on the Wang Fuk Court docket housing complicated, left a police station in a taxi on Monday. https://t.co/dcSK6GIbma pic.twitter.com/5E2qNKumDA
— Jessie Pang (@JessiePang0125) December 1, 2025
Requested in regards to the arrests of individuals demanding motion, Lee mentioned he would “not tolerate any crimes, notably crimes that exploit the tragedy that we’ve got been going through now”.
Amnesty Worldwide and Human Rights Watch issued statements criticising the reported arrests of these calling for accountability.
“Now could be the time for the Hong Kong authorities to transparently examine the causes of the devastating hearth … moderately than silencing those that ask reputable questions,” Amnesty Worldwide mentioned.
Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director Elaine Pearson mentioned authorities in Hong Kong ought to “not deal with these demanding solutions for the tragic hearth as criminals”.
China’s nationwide safety workplace issued a press release warning those that would use the catastrophe to “plunge Hong Kong again into the chaos” of 2019 – when large pro-democracy protests challenged Beijing and triggered a political disaster.
“We sternly warn the anti-China disruptors who try to ‘disrupt Hong Kong by means of catastrophe’,” the workplace mentioned in a press release.
“It doesn’t matter what strategies you utilize, you’ll definitely be held accountable and strictly punished,” it added.
