Judge-led panel to probe deadly blaze as Hong Kong goes ahead with election
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has ordered the setting up of a judge-led independent review committee on the blaze that engulfed a Tai Po residential estate while formally announcing that the Legislative Council election will go ahead on Sunday as scheduled. The death toll from the inferno that swept through seven of the…
The death toll from the inferno that swept through seven of the eight blocks of Wang Fuk Court last Wednesday rose to 156 after five more bodies were found on Tuesday.
Of the total, 127 victims have been identified, while about 30 people remain unaccounted for. Seventy-nine people were injured, including 12 firefighters who have since been discharged from hospital.
Residents of Wang Chi House, the only block to escape the fire’s wrath, will be allowed to return home for 1½ hours on Wednesday and Thursday to collect their valuables and essential belongings.
More than 2,600 of the estate’s estimated 4,000 residents have been relocated to youth hostels, hotels or transitional housing units, while a government-backed fund for victims reached more than HK$2.3 billion (US$296 million), including an initial HK$300 million in public funding.
The city leader said that authorities would set up the committee to find out the truth behind the blaze and initiate “systemic reform”.
