Video ‘debunks’ Hong Kong fire theory as death toll from high rise blaze climbs to 146 dead
A viral video seeks to expose the truth behind the horrifying, fast-burning inferno at multiple Hong Kong high-rise apartments that has claimed 146 lives so far.
Bamboo scaffolding was likely not the main reason why a deadly inferno quickly spread to multiple residential towers in Hong Kong, a video has sought to show.
A massive fire ripped through seven of eight apartment buildings at Wang Fuk Court in the district of Tai Po last Wednesday, killing at least 146 people so far.
The blaze burned for some 40 hours, reigniting at some points, as hundreds of firefighters struggled to extinguish the flames throughout the units of the high-rises.
Fingers were immediately pointed at the bamboo scaffolding that wrapped from the bottom to the top of buildings, which were under major renovations since mid 2024.
But a clip shared to Instagram over the weekend appeared to debunk that theory.
In the video, a person can be seen using a blow torch on a piece of bamboo for at least 10 seconds, with the material — which is widely used in the Hong Kong construction industry — barely catching fire.
The next part of the video showed protective green mesh, which had also covered the apartment buildings, being lit and immediately catching fire.
“Video shows the fire resistance level of bamboo used for scaffolding … versus non fire-rated non-compliant scaffold netting,” the post read.
“Cheers to the people working to debunk claims that the bamboo is the problem – a scaffolding material used for over 2000 years.”
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There was commentary across social media and in the news that blamed bamboo as the reason why the fire spread from building to building in the tightly-built community.
The material had already been under scrutiny in Hong Kong, and in March the government announced it would phase out bamboo for steel due to safety concerns.
Bamboo is a cheap, lightweight and strong enough option for many construction companies in Hong Kong. Tourists can spot bamboo scaffolding across various districts as the financial hub renovates run-down structures and build new towers.
The material is combustible if dried out or treated with adhesives, but it does not have a high burn rate with sufficient water content.
Processed bamboo, often used in the construction industry, is very flammable.
But the speed at which the fire spread appeared to be from non-compliant materials, combined with the wind on the day and “fuel sources” in residents’ homes.
Police Superintendent Eileen Chung said it appeared the green mesh, netting and plastic sheets on the outside of the building did not meet fire safety requirements.
Officers also searched inside the one unaffected tower and found polystyrene foam, which burns rapidly, protecting the windows of lift lobbies on each floor.
“Everyone knows (styrofoam) is a flammable material and could potentially accelerate the spread of a fire,” Supt Chung told reporters last week.
“It is suspected that it may be one of the causes of the fire and (why it) spread so quickly.
“Preliminary investigations reveal that (the styrofoam boards) were installed by a construction company during the repair work. Police have reason to believe that the company’s directors were involved in serious negligence that caused the fire and its rapid spread.”
Another reason for the significant number of deaths was that fire alarms in the building did not work, officials said.
Some experts argue the bamboo scaffolding structure, built on the ground level to the top of the buildings, played a big role in Hong Kong’s worst fire in almost eight decades.
“In my point of view, the scaffolding presented a path for the fire to spread vertically which compromised compartmentation. The fire ‘climbed’ the scaffolding, and ignited the multiple fuel sources in people’s homes,” Dr Anwar Orabi, a lecturer in Fire Safety Engineering at the University of Queensland, told Al Jazeera.
“Fire can break windows by imposing a strong heat flux (flow of heat) which heats up the glass and breaks it. It is also possible that many people left their windows open resulting in ingress of the fire. This resulted in a multi-storey fire.”
Hong Kong locals, major corporations and the government have rallied together and raised HK$1.1 billion (A$235 million) in four days for victims and their families.
Death toll climbs
The death toll from Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has risen to 146 after over a dozen more bodies were found in the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex.
Officers of Hong Kong’s Disaster Victim Identification Unit have broadened their search five days after the deadly inferno broke out at the Wang Fuk Court in the Tai Po district on Wednesday afternoon.
Police said on Sunday 18 additional bodies were found in flats, staircases, hallways and rooftops, adding that the wrecked building interiors complicated the search.
It bring the death toll to 146, up from 128 recorded the day before.
“As of 4:00pm (0800 GMT), the latest death toll stands at 146. We cannot rule out the possibility of further fatalities,” Chief Superintendent Tsang Shuk-yin of the police’s casualty inquiry unit said at a news conference.
Police said 54 of the 146 recovered bodies were yet to be identified. Officers were still trying to reach some 40 people who were reported to be missing.
Fourteen people injured in the fire remained hospitalised in critical condition, with another four in serious condition.
The Housing Department said it had surveyed six of the estate’s eight apartment blocks and found “no immediate danger” to their overall structure.
Police as well as Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog have launched investigations into the blaze, but a petition calling for greater accountability and demanding an independent probe was swiftly shut down as an organiser was reportedly arrested for sedition.
The anti-corruption watchdog has arrested 11 people in connection to the fire, three of whom were also arrested by police for manslaughter.
Hong Kong media have widely reported, citing unnamed sources, that police have made one sedition arrest in relation to the fire.
Reports said the person arrested was 24-year-old student Miles Kwan, who was among those handing out flyers on Friday calling for governmental accountability and an independent probe.
Police told AFP on Saturday that it “will take actions according to actual circumstances and in accordance with the law” and said they had nothing further to add on Sunday evening.
Kwan could not be reached by phone on Sunday.
Beijing’s national security arm in Hong Kong said on Saturday it staunchly supported the Hong Kong government in punishing acts by anti-China forces that “use disaster as pretext to cause chaos in Hong Kong”.
Hong Kong in mourning
Hong Kong has declared three days of mourning to remember those killed in the blaze, with officials holding three minutes of silence on Saturday morning.
On Sunday, thousands flock to a small park next to the charred residential estate, which has become a focal point for grief over what was the world’s deadliest residential building fire since 1980.
The queue of people, many dressed in dark colours and holding flowers, stretched more than 1.2 kilometres in the Tai Po neighbourhood, an AFP reporter saw, meaning some mourners had to wait hours to pay their respects.
Outside of Tai Po, other parts of Hong Kong also saw events to mourn the fire victims, which were attended by many migrant domestic workers who had Sundays off.
Prayer events in the central business district and in Victoria Park drew more than 100 attendees each.
At least seven Indonesian nationals and one Philippine migrant worker had died in the fire, their respective consulates said separately on Saturday.
Hong Kong’s Buildings Department has ordered temporary suspension of works on 30 private building projects across the city.
