"Almost a full day after the fire began, firefighters were struggling to reach residents potentially trapped on the upper floors of the Wang Fuk Court housing complex due to intense heat and thick smoke from the fire that erupted on Wednesday afternoon. Police said in addition to the buildings being covered with protective mesh sheets and plastic that may not meet fire standards, they discovered some windows on one unaffected building were sealed with a foam material, installed by a construction company carrying out year-long maintenance work."
""We have reason to believe that the company's responsible parties were grossly negligent, which led to this accident and caused the fire to spread uncontrollably, resulting in major casualties," said Eileen Chung, a Hong Kong police superintendent. Three men from the construction company, two directors and one engineering consultant, had been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over the fire, she added."
A fire erupted Wednesday afternoon at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, engulfing several 32-storey residential towers and producing intense heat and thick smoke. The towers were sheathed in green construction mesh and bamboo scaffolding, and some windows on an unaffected building were sealed with foam installed during year-long maintenance. Authorities said the mesh, plastic sheets and foam may not meet fire standards and could have helped the fire spread. Firefighters struggled for nearly a day to reach residents potentially trapped on upper floors while bringing blazes under control in four of seven blocks. Police arrested three men from a construction company on suspicion of manslaughter and seized related documents.
Read at Irish Independent
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