Hong Kong

Hong Kong will set up an independent commission of inquiry headed by a judge to determine the cause of a deadly apartment block fire that shocked the city and make recommendations to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again, its leader said Tuesday. John Lee, the chief executive of the Chinese region, pledged to overcome vested interests and pursue accountability for a fire that killed at least 151 people. We must uncover the truth, ensure that justice is served, let the deceased rest in peace and provide comfort to the living, he told the media at a 30-minute weekly appearance completely dominated by last week's blaze. The fire started in scaffolding that had been set up around the Wang Fuk Court complex for maintenance work and spread to seven of the eight towers. They were home to more than 4,600 people and many have been left homeless. The initial investigation has focused on why the fire expanded so rapidly, overwhelming firefighting efforts. Authorities have cited both

Donations for victims of a Hong Kong fire that killed at least 146 people and left thousands homeless reached 900 million Hong Kong dollars (USD 115 million), authorities said on Monday, in a massive outpouring of sympathy and support. But as questions grew over who to blame for the deadly blaze, the government appeared to be moving swiftly to stifle criticism. A steady stream of people placed flowers, cards and other tributes at a makeshift memorial near the burned-out block of buildings, after long lines of mourners during the weekend. When something happens, we come out to help each other, said Loretta Loh, after paying her regards at the site. I have a heavy heart. The fire broke out on Wednesday afternoon at the Wang Fuk Court complex in the suburb of Tai Po. It burned through seven of eight apartment towers, home to some 4,600 people, and wasn't fully extinguished until Friday morning. Hong Kong police Disaster Victim Identification Unit staff went through four of the buildi

A steady stream of people placed bouquets of white roses, carnations, lilies and other flowers Sunday at a makeshift memorial outside the blackened buildings of a Hong Kong apartment complex that went up in flames, killing at least 128 people in one of the city's deadliest blazes. Many bowed toward the scene of the fire and said short prayers, or left handwritten notes among the flowers. There has been an outpouring of support and sympathy, with thousands of city residents visiting the site of the fire to pay tribute to the dead and donate supplies to those who lost everything in the blaze, which started Wednesday and took until Friday to fully extinguish. The eight buildings of the Wang Fuk Court complex in the suburb of Tai Po had all been clad in bamboo scaffolding draped with nylon netting for renovations, with windows covered by polystyrene panels, and authorities are now investigating whether fire codes were violated. Hong Kong officials announced late Saturday they had order

A local official informed that firefighting and rescue operations were nearly concluded after days of efforts to combat the deadly fire that claimed at least 128 lives

The scale of the disaster unfolding in northern Hong Kong - which killed at least 128 - presents an acute challenge to a city notorious for its housing shortage and sky-high rents

Some 200 residents of Wang Fuk Court were still unaccounted for as of Friday, with Secretary for Security Chris Tang saying at a briefing that officials couldn't rule out finding more bodies

Firefighters battled for a second day to extinguish a blaze at a high-rise apartment complex in Hong Kong on Thursday, as the death toll rose to 94 in one of the deadliest blazes in the city's modern history. Rescuers holding flashlights were going from apartment to apartment at the charred towers as thick smoke poured out from some windows at the Wang Fuk Court complex, a dense cluster of buildings housing thousands of people in Tai Po district, a northern suburb near Hong Kong's border with the mainland. Officials said firefighters were still working on a handful of apartments and trying to enter all of the units in the seven towers to ensure there were no further casualties. Our firefighting operation is almost complete, said Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of Fire Services Operations. Firefighters were working hard to prevent the debris and embers from flaring up. What's next is the search and rescue operation, he added. It was unclear how many people remained missing or

Multiple written warnings were issued to the contractor about the need to adopt appropriate fire safety measures at the estate then home to 4,600 people

While the exact cause of the deadly inferno that swept across a Hong Kong apartment complex remains unknown, questions have been raised about the role of the bamboo scaffolding that enveloped the buildings at the time of the fire. The blaze, which has left at least 94 dead, has focused attention on the use of the ancient construction technique dating back over 1,000 years. Bamboo poles lashed together using wire and other strong materials are often found at construction sites in Southeast Asia. Hong Kong is one of the few major cities where such scaffolding is a common sight. Officials said Wednesday's fire started on the external scaffolding of a 32-story tower in the suburb of Tai Po, spread to the inside of the building and then to six other towers, likely aided by windy conditions. Officials are investigating why the scaffolding and other construction materials used in renovations to the outsides of the buildings caught fire. Bamboo is a fast-growing plant that forms tall, hol

Hundreds of residents were evacuated as the fire spread across seven of the eight high-rise apartment buildings in a housing complex in Tai Po district, a suburb in the New Territories

Thirteen people were killed in a fire that spread across multiple high-rise apartment buildings in a Hong Kong housing complex, the city's fire services said Wednesday. Nine people were declared dead on the scene and four others who were sent to the hospital were later confirmed dead, authorities told reporters. About 700 people have been evacuated to temporary shelters. The raging fire sent up a column of flames and thick smoke as it spread on bamboo scaffolding and construction netting that had been set up around the exterior of the housing complex in Tai Po district, in the New Territories. Video from the scene showed at least five buildings close to each other ablaze, with bright flames and smoke shooting out of many of the apartments' windows as night fell. Lo Hiu-fung, a Taipo District Council member, told local TV station TVB earlier Wednesday that most of the residents trapped in the fire were believed to be elderly people. The blaze started mid afternoon and after nightf

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Hong Kong authorities on Tuesday were preparing to reopen the runway where a cargo aircraft crashed a day ago, but said it would remain out of regular use until wreckage from the accident was fully cleared. The Boeing 747 flown by Turkey-based ACT Airlines flight from Dubai skidded off to the left after landing in the early hours of Monday and collided with a patrol car, causing both to fall into the sea. Two workers in the car were found dead, while four crew members on the plane had no apparent injuries. Repairs to the runway and damaged fencing have been completed, Steven Yiu, the airport authority's executive director for airport operations, told Radio Television Hong Kong. He added that that investigators had collected initial evidence at the scene. But Yiu said the plane's cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder have not yet been retrieved. Authorities were aiming to put the runway on standby status, which means that it can be used for landings but will not be ...

A cargo aircraft skidded off a Hong Kong runway into the sea when landing early Monday, killing two people. The flight, arriving from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was landing at Hong Kong International Airport around 3.50 am, according to Hong Kong's airport authority. Four crew members on the plane were rescued and taken to hospital. Initial reports from police said two people in an airport ground vehicle were dead. The north runway of Hong Kong's airport, one of Asia's busiest, where the aircraft skidded off runway, has been closed, authorities said. Two other runways at the airport continue to operate. The Boeing 747 freighter is a Turkish air cargo carrier AirACT aircraft flying for Emirates SkyCargo, with the flight number EK9788. It was flying from Al Maktoum International Airport. Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department said in a statement that it was following up with the airline and other parties involved in the crash.

An Air India Dreamliner aircraft faced a technical issue at the Hong Kong airport on Thursday morning and underwent checks before being cleared to fly to Delhi. The Boeing 787-8 plane VT-ANO, which faced the issue on Thursday, is the same aircraft in which the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was deployed seconds before landing at the Birmingham airport on October 4. "AI315 operating from Hong Kong to Delhi on 16 October was delayed due to a minor issue necessitating a reset of a component. "The aircraft underwent checks, took off after being cleared for operation and landed in Delhi," an airline spokesperson said in a statement to PTI. As per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com, AI315, operated by Boeing 787-8 aircraft VT-ANO, was scheduled to take off from the Hong Kong airport at around 8.50 am (local time) but was delayed and departed at about 11.30 am. The spokesperson also said that at Air India, the safety of passengers remains top priority. On October

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