HONG KONG, China: An outpouring of grief swept Hong Kong on Saturday as thousands paid their respects and laid flowers for the 128 people killed in one of the city’s deadliest fires, marking the start of an official, three-day mourning period.
People from across the city flocked to a small park near the charred shell of Wang Fuk Court, the residential complex that burned for more than 40 hours, to place white and yellow flowers and leave handwritten messages of remembrance.
The queue kept growing and by nightfall the area was filled with solemn mourners, many dressed in dark colours.
A 69-year-old woman surnamed Wong, who lived in the estate for more than four decades, sat dazed nearby as she counted off a list of deceased neighbours and friends.
“It was a grandmother with a 18-month-old baby… I was very close with them,” Wong told AFP, adding that many of the elderly homeowners had a tight bond.
“Yesterday it was confirmed they died.”
Even for those who were physically unscathed, some — like resident Wong Kuen-mui, a 67-year-old insurance worker — struggled with a profound sense of loss.
“Forty years’ worth of memories have all been lost… All the old photos (of my children) are gone, it’s hard to recall what they looked like as kids, and that’s the most painful,” she said.
Elsewhere in the Tai Po neighbourhood, a hall in a community centre was turned into a “condolence point” for the public, one of 18 across the Chinese finance hub.
A man surnamed Ki, 52, was among the dozens who queued to sign the condolence book in silence, which was only broken by sounds of sobbing.
“I can’t do anything. I can only hope they rest in peace,” he told AFP.
Raymond Tang, who was also in the queue, said his wish was that the deceased can “cross the sea of suffering and depart to the other side”.
City leader John Lee and top ministers stood in silence for three minutes at 8:00 am outside the government headquarters, where the flags of China and Hong Kong were flown at half-mast.
During the mourning period, celebratory events organised by the government will be axed or postponed, and officials will reduce their non-essential public appearances.
Meanwhile, China launched a campaign against “major fire risks and hazards” in high-rise buildings, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Saturday.
Desperate search
Police on Saturday said the death toll remained 128 and told a news conference that 44 of the dead were “awaiting body identification”.
Legions of police officers from the Disaster Victim Identification Unit, dressed in white full-body protective gear, finished searching two of the eight tower blocks and found no new bodies.
Rescuers were still trying to sort out the situation of around 150 people who were reported missing and could not be contacted. Police said the missing person reports varied in terms of information quality.
Those anxious about their missing loved ones continued desperate searches at hospitals and victim identification stations.
More than 40 people remained hospitalised on Saturday, with 11 in critical condition, and 21 listed as “serious”.
On Friday, the city’s anti-corruption watchdog arrested eight people in connection with the blaze, on top of three earlier arrests by police.
Flames had spread quickly through the housing estate in the city’s northern Tai Po district on Wednesday afternoon, engulfing seven of the eight high-rises in the densely packed complex.
Authorities said the cause was yet to be determined, but preliminary investigations suggested the fire started on protective netting on the lower floors of one of the towers and that “highly flammable” foam boards, as well as bamboo scaffolding, had contributed to its spread.
Fire services chief Andy Yeung said they discovered that alarm systems in all eight apartment blocks “were malfunctioning”, and vowed action against the contractors.
The blaze was Hong Kong’s deadliest since 1948, when an explosion followed by a fire killed at least 135 people.
On Saturday, at least, police regional commander Lam Man-han had one item of good news in an update on the building searches.
“During the search, we did not find any human remains,” Lam said.
“We rescued three cats from Wang Yan House and one turtle from Wang Tao House.”
