More than a year ago, residents of the towers of the Tai Po residential complex, in Hong Kong, which burned down last Wednesday, had warned local authorities about a possible violation of fire safety rules during the renovation work, according to the newspaper this Friday “The New York Times“.
The newspaper had access to emails sent by residents to local authorities, in September 2024, realizing that the protective net was flammable. They also warned about the flammable foam sheets, which authorities have now admitted contributed to the fire spreading very quickly.
The international press reports that authorities had warned those responsible for the work a week ago about these risks, according to “Bloomberg” and the “Independent“. Specifically, the department that received complaints from residents said it had carried out several inspections since 2024, having found multiple violations and notifying contractors of the unsafe situation, including a week ago.
For now, the The cause of the fire has not yet been determineds, but preliminary conclusions indicate that the fire started in the lower parts of the shipyard. On the other hand, the spread of the flames will have been favored by the use of bamboo in the scaffolding, something common in Hong Kong, and flammable materials such as foam panels that protected the windows. According to AFP, local security chief Chris Tang admitted that the investigation could take three or four weeks.
Authorities detained 11 people on suspicion of negligence. Among those detained are two responsible for the project office that prepared the renovation, two construction managers, three scaffolding subcontractors and an intermediary.
According to AFP, cited by Lusa, threeis the deadliest building fire in the world since 1980, excluding fires in nightclubs, prisons or shopping centers, according to research in the disaster database at the University of Leuven (Belgium). And it is the most serious in Hong Kong since 1948.
The fact that there were warnings that did not, however, prevent the fire from being prevented, raises pressure on the Hong Kong government, a special administrative region of China. With elections scheduled for next month, the government has already said it will cancel “non-essential public activities” so it can direct time and resources to helping victims and their families, according to “New York Times“.