Substandard work and evasion of oversight helped fuel deadly Hong Kong fire, investigators told
Investigators said substandard renovation work and weak oversight let the blaze spread through seven buildings, killing 168 people and displacing thousands.
- On Friday, lawyers told the committee investigating Hong Kong's deadliest residential fire that the November 26 blaze at Wang Fuk Court was "preventable but not prevented, and foreseeable but not foreseen," killing 168 people.
- Committee lead lawyer Victor Dawes argued that contractors' use of non-fire-retardant scaffolding netting "may have meant the difference between a catastrophic fire that engulfed seven blocks of the estate, and a fire which would have self-extinguished."
- Authorities charged seven people and two companies last month with manslaughter and conspiracy to defraud, alleging Will Power Architects Company and Prestige Construction & Engineering Co. faked inspection compliance and signed documents like a "rubber stamp."
- While Lawyer Jenkin Suen acknowledged systemic vulnerabilities, Dawes criticized the government's reliance on an honor system, arguing officials "must bear a certain responsibility" for system failures.
- The committee led by High Court judge David Lok will issue recommendations after reviewing the fire's cause, though its scope excludes legal liabilities, which Jeffrey Tam, a lawyer for nine residents, noted complicates the search for truth.
28 Articles
28 Articles
Hong Kong Fire Inquiry Blames Contractor Negligence, Regulatory Failures for 168 Deaths
Hong Kong Fire Inquiry Blames Contractor Negligence, Regulatory Failures for 168 Deaths - Independent report says flammable materials, disabled fire systems and missed warnings turned a renovation-site blaze into one of the city’s deadliest disasters
Le Journal de Montreal
Le Journal de QuebecAfter surviving the world's deadliest residential fire since 1980 in Hong Kong, survivors demand an apology
Substandard work, evasion of oversight helped fuel deadly Hong Kong fire, investigators told
An independent committee investigating the cause of Hong Kong's deadliest fire in decades heard arguments on how improper practices that evaded regulatory oversight turned a small fire into a tragedy, as the investigation neared its conclusion on Friday.
Malay Mail
AlKhaleej TodayHuman errors, ignored risks led to Hong Kong fire disaster that killed 168, inquiry told
HONG KONG, July 17 — A devastating fire that ripped through a Hong Kong apartment complex last year and killed 168 people was “preventable”, lawyers told a committee investigating the blaze in closing statements today. The November 26 fire at Wang Fuk Court was the world’s deadliest residential building blaze since 1980.It engulfed seven of the eight high-rise blocks, which were covered in bamboo scaffolding, protective netting and foam boards f…
The Straits Times
Free Malaysia Today NewsHong Kong wraps up probe into ‘preventable’ deadly fire
A devastating fire at Hong Kong's Wang Fuk Court was preventable due to human errors, lawyers told an investigative committee. Read more at straitstimes.com.
An investigation into the Hong Kong residential fire that killed 168 people concluded that the tragedy could have been prevented, but was caused by contractor negligence and lax government oversight.
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