Mourners flock to site of deadly Hong Kong blaze as Beijing warns against protests

HONG KONG: More than a thousand people turned out on Sunday (Nov 30) to pay tribute to the victims of Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in more than 75 years, as Beijing warned it would use a national security law to crack down on any “anti-China” protest in the wake of the fire.

The cause of the blaze, which killed 146 people at a high-rise apartment complex, remains under investigation, amid public anger and dismay over missed fire risk warnings and evidence of unsafe construction practices.

Tsang Shuk-yin, the head of the Hong Kong police casualty unit, told reporters at the scene on Sunday that another 100 cases remain unresolved, with 54 bodies awaiting identification. 

Mourners waited in a queue stretching for more than a kilometre along the banks of a canal near the burnt-out Wang Fuk Court housing complex to lay white flowers for those who died. Some attached sticky notes addressed to the victims.

The smell of smoke still hung in the air four full days after the fast-moving blaze fanned across the exterior of seven residential towers under renovation in Hong Kong’s northern Tai Po district.

Seven of eight buildings of the Wang Fuk Court complex burned in the blaze that started on Wednesday afternoon and wasn’t fully extinguished until Friday morning.

So far, the police victim identification unit has searched through four of the buildings.

Joey Yeung, 28, whose grandmother’s apartment burned in the fire, said she had come with her family with a sense of both mourning for the victims and anger at those responsible.

“I can’t accept it. So today I came with my father and my family to lay flowers,” Yeung told Reuters. “I’m not asking to get anything back, but at least give some justice to the families of the deceased – to those who are still alive.”

Seven Indonesian domestic workers and one Filipino helper have been confirmed among the dead, and dozens of migrant workers remain missing. An outdoor prayer meeting in central Hong Kong for the city’s Filipino community was attended by hundreds on Sunday morning.

Police on Saturday detained Miles Kwan, 24, who was part of a group that launched a petition demanding an independent probe into possible corruption and a review of construction oversight, two people familiar with the matter said. Reuters could not establish whether he had been arrested.

Hong Kong police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The online petition promoted by the group drew over 10,000 signatures by Saturday afternoon before it was closed.

A second petition with similar demands was launched soon after by a Tai Po resident who is living overseas. That petition had more than 2,700 signatures as of Sunday. 

“The government owes Hongkongers genuine, explicit accountability,” it said.

The blaze that ripped through seven residential towers near the border with mainland China has stunned Hong Kong and authorities have launched criminal and corruption investigations.

China’s national security authorities on Saturday warned individuals against using the disaster to “plunge Hong Kong back into the chaos” of 2019, when massive pro-democracy protests challenged Beijing and triggered a political crisis.

“We sternly warn the anti-China disruptors who attempt to ‘disrupt Hong Kong through disaster’. No matter what methods you use, you will certainly be held accountable and strictly punished.”

FIRE ALARMS NOT WORKING PROPERLY

Authorities have arrested 11 people in connection with the blaze, as they investigate possible corruption and the use of unsafe materials during renovations at the complex.

Rescue operations at the site concluded on Friday, though police say they may find more bodies as they comb through the hazardous, burnt-out buildings in the coming weeks.

The fire started on Wednesday afternoon and rapidly engulfed seven of the eight 32-storey blocks at the complex, which were wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh, and layered with foam insulation for the renovations.

Authorities have said the fire alarms at the complex, home to over 4,600 people, had not been working properly.

The fire is Hong Kong’s deadliest since 1948, when 176 people died in a warehouse blaze.

Residents of Wang Fuk Court were told by authorities last year they faced “relatively low fire risks” after complaining about fire hazards posed by the renovation, the city’s Labour Department said.

The residents raised concerns in September 2024, including about the potential flammability of the protective green mesh contractors used to cover the bamboo scaffolding, a department spokesperson said.