Do not rule out criminal cases! 44 people have been killed in a fire at a residential building in Hong Kong

On the afternoon of November

26, a fire broke out in several residential buildings in Hung Fuk Court, Tai Po Estate, New Territories, Hong Kong, causing heavy casualties. According to the Hong Kong police and fire department, 44 people have been killed and 45 injured in the fire in Wang Fuk Court, Tai Po Estate. The Hong Kong police arrested three persons in charge of the engineering company responsible for the maintenance of the building, including two directors and one engineering consultant, aged between 52 and 68, on suspicion of manslaughter. The deputy director of the

Hong Kong Fire Services Department said that according to preliminary judgment, a number of debris and bamboo sheds were ignited in the fire and drifted to nearby buildings under the influence of the wind, eventually spreading to seven of the eight buildings. The fire department operated fire hydrants inside the buildings that were not affected, strengthened protection on the roof, and sprayed water on the adjacent buildings to carry out rescue. In the early morning

of November 27, Deng Bingqiang, Commissioner of Police of the HKSAR Government, said that according to the preliminary investigation at the scene, the fire did not rule out the possibility of a criminal case and had been handed over to the Hong Kong police for further investigation.

Hong Kong police launched an investigation and found that there were protective nets, tarpaulins and plastic sheets on the exterior walls of the building, which were suspected not to meet the fire protection standards. In addition, there were styrofoam seals outside the windows of the elevator lobby on each floor of an unaffected building, which were flammable and might accelerate the spread of the fire. It could not be ruled out that styrofoam was the cause of the rapid spread.