Hong Kong tower inferno: Miracle survivor as death toll rises
As firefighters scour torched high-rise buildings in a Hong Kong apartment complex for scores of people listed as missing, survivors have opened up about the terrifying scenes that unfolded. Warning: Sensitive content
Survivors of the catastrophic Hong Kong tower inferno say they escaped by sheer luck as a survivor was pulled from the smouldering rubble more than a day after the fire ripped through the residential estate killing.
Hong Kong authorities said the death toll from the city’s worst fire in decades had risen to at least 94, as firefighters scoured torched high-rise buildings in an apartment complex for scores of people listed as missing.
The grim news came amid a report a man had been found alive huddling in the stairwell on the 16th floor of Wang Tao Tower, according to the South China Morning Post.
Flames were still visible in some of the eight-building estate’s almost 2000 units well over 24 hours after the fire broke out, with crews still spraying water over the blackened exteriors.
Residents of Wang Fuk Court, located in Hong Kong’s northern district of Tai Po, told AFP that they did not hear any fire alarms and had to go door-to-door to alert neighbours to the danger.
“The fire spread so quickly. I saw one hose trying to save several buildings, and I felt it was far too slow,” said a man surnamed Suen.
“Ringing doorbells, knocking on doors, alerting the neighbours, telling them to leave – that’s what the situation was like,” he said.
The intense flames were finally extinguished in four of the eight apartment blocks and the fires in three others were under control, officials said on Thursday afternoon local time. One building was not affected.
Sections of charred scaffolding fell from the burning apartment blocks in hellish scenes late on Wednesday, as flames inside apartments sometimes belched out through windows into a night sky that glowed orange.
Fire services said the wind and drifting debris likely spread the fire from one building to another.
Hong Kong’s government said it was setting up a HK$300 million ($A59m) fund to help victims of the fire.
City authorities said they had opened nine shelters and were organising temporary accommodation and emergency funds for those who had lost their homes.
Activities around Hong Kong’s legislative elections, set to take place on December 7, have been suspended.
Some of the residents in adjacent blocks who had been evacuated as a precaution were allowed back into their homes on Thursday afternoon.
Crowds moved by the tragedy gathered near the complex to organise aid for displaced residents and firefighters, part of a spontaneous effort in a city that has some of the world’s most densely packed and tallest residential blocks.
‘I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST LIKE A NORMAL FIRE’
Wong Sik-kam said his son, a firefighter, was battling the fire that destroyed his home of 40 years.
The blaze started in mesh-covered bamboo scaffolding and jumped from block to block, carried by the wind.
“The fire started from the sixth block. Then it spread to the fifth and the fourth block and so on,” Wong said.
“Because the third block is attached to the first and second, when the third block caught fire, there was no way the other two could escape.” Only the eighth block was spared.
“They are considered lucky,” said Wong, whose apartment in the third block was destroyed.
Firefighters were already at the scene when his son warned him to flee.
“My son was out and he called to tell me, ‘Dad, there’s a fire’. I opened the window and I saw the firemen who were rescuing the fourth, fifth blocks,” he said.
“I thought it was just like a normal fire … it’s just a bit of a commotion and it’d be put out,” he said.
“But it turned out to be that big that the whole estate went up in flames.”
The sight of firefighters rescuing people from other blocks made him realise the true scale.
“I went to every unit and banged on their doors, (shouting) ‘Fire! Fire! Let’s get out! Let’s get out!’”
“We took the stairs, not the lift of course. This is just common sense. When we got down, we saw that there were already many who gathered (outside).”
‘THE ELDERLY SUFFOCATED TO DEATH’
A shuttle bus was transporting residents to a nearby shelter while police cleared the area.
“If (we were) too near, we were afraid it’s dangerous. We were afraid that the scaffolding would fall on us.”
Wong said his son was going to units on the higher floors, where “maybe there are over 100 people who died”.
“Those who are elderly, those who didn’t run away, they have suffocated to death because it’s too hot. The heat killed them,” Wong said.
“He told me they will be bringing the bodies down, maybe there are over 100 … we don’t know yet.
“I told him to be careful because it’s been burning overnight, not sure if the structure would collapse,” he said.
Wong spent the night at a community centre.
“I couldn’t sleep properly. The lights were all turned on, it was glaring. I only managed about two to three hours’ sleep all night,” he said.
“I feel really unhappy,” he said, crying.
‘FIRE SERVICES WEREN’T THAT FAST’
Resident Kwong Pui-lun said he has lived in the estate for 41 years and would go downstairs for a stroll every day at around 2pm.
“As soon as I stepped outside, I saw the smoke,” Kwong said.
He rushed home immediately, banging on doors to warn his neighbours.
“I told them to take the stairs. We went down together, so they were not afraid,” he said.
They had to leave most of their possessions behind.
“Luckily, I got my wallet and my bag. I live with my wife, so we left together,” he said.
Outside, fire services and ambulances had not yet arrived.
“They weren’t that fast. We were faster than them,” Kwong said.
“We crossed the street to the community centre, then the rescue vehicles started arriving in a hurry.”
“Some (people) were really scared,” he said.
“I helped to push some wheelchairs. Some people, you know, they have mobility issues, I helped them too.”
He said the centre was getting chaotic within two or three hours.
“Maybe they didn’t know what to do during the disaster. Maybe it’s their first time, I suppose,” Kwong said.
Social workers at the centre handed out medicines collected from hospitals to older residents.
“The social workers here are doing a really good job,” Kwong said.
“They also woke them up to remind them to take their medication”.
“I still feel uneasy,” he told AFP in the morning after hardly sleeping.
“I went back to have another look – it was still smouldering. Why is it still burning? There were only a few streams of water.
“This can’t be right.”
He said “quite a number” of his friends are missing.
“We have informed the police … We hope those who are missing can let us know that they are safe,” he said.
Friends and relatives offered their homes so that Kwong and his wife would not have to sleep at the community centre.
“They have been very caring towards us,” a tearful Kwong said.
“They said ‘come stay at my house’.”
‘THERE WERE CHILDREN’
Cheung, who only gave her surname, said her sister and brother-in-law are missing.
She said she saw the photos of bodies put up by police at the community centre in the hope of identifying victims.
“If the faces are unrecognisable, there are personal items for people to identify,” Cheung said.
“We could see the faces in the photos. The photos are categorised based on the gender of the bodies. Most photos are clear, some had dark colours.
“I cannot find my family members in the photos,” she said, adding she would return if more photos were put up.
“I cannot describe my feelings. There were children … I cannot describe it,” she said, her voice cracking.
Cheung said she tried ringing her relatives but the line went to voicemail.
“It was because they live in the first building that caught fire,” said Cheung, whose sister’s apartment was on the 23rd floor.
A “saddened” Pope Leo issued a statement sending “spiritual solidarity to all those suffering … especially the injured and the families who grieve”.
Among the dead are a 37-year-old firefighter and two Indonesians working as migrant domestic workers.
THREE ARRESTED OVER DEADLY BLAZE
Three construction company executives have been arrested and charged with “gross negligence” after Hong Kong’s deadliest fire ripped through residential towers.
The blaze was allegedly fuelled by highly flammable bamboo scaffolding and substandard safety materials across the Wang Fuk Court estate.
The scale of the disaster also forced a rare intervention from Beijing, with President Xi Jinping personally ordering “all-out rescue efforts,” including national government agencies.
The apocalyptic inferno engulfed the residential estate with firefighters saying they were unable to reach some of the people seeking help.
The fire started at around 2.50pm Wednesday and, after 16 hours, emergency services had brought the blaze “under control” but seven of the eight buildings were still alight.
Hong Kong chief executive John Lee described the fire as a “massive catastrophe”.
President Xi expressed his condolences about the fires, according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency.
He instructed national government agencies to help Hong Kong extinguish the fire, carry out search and rescue operations, and treat the injured.
China’s top leader typically issues such pronouncements only after disasters with considerable loss of life.
ANTI-CORRUPTION PROBE
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption body said that it had launched a probe into renovation work at the housing complex.
“In view of the immense public interest involved, the ICAC today set up a task force to launch a full investigation into possible corruption in the grand renovation project of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po,” the Independent Commission Against Corruption said in a statement.
NO AUSTRALIANS IMPACTED
It does not appear any Australian ex-pats were caught in the blaze.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade expressed their condolences over the tragedy.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the horrific fire in Hong Kong, and we extend our deepest sympathies to the victims and their loved ones,” the spokesman said.
A residential unit owner in his 40s told AFP that the government needed to help those made homeless.
More than 800 firefighters tackled the fire, according to the Hong Kong Free Press.
The government weather service, the Hong Kong Observatory, said the fire danger for the region had been at the “extreme” level for the past week.
Bystanders heard loud cracking sounds, possibly from the burning bamboo, and saw thick plumes of smoke billowing from at least five of the estate’s eight buildings as flames and ash reached high into the sky.
Among the dead was a 37-year-old firefighter. He was found with burns on his face, and was certified dead after being rushed to hospital, according to Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung.
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Originally published as Hong Kong tower inferno: Miracle survivor as death toll rises
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