Smoke billows from fires at an apartment complex in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong, China, on Thursday. On Tuesday, the chief executive ordered a committee to investigate the fire and suggest reforms. Photo by Leung Man Hei/EPA
Hong Kong’s leader, John Lee, on Tuesday, ordered the creation of an independent committee to investigate a high-rise fire that killed more than 150 people.
The committee will be led by a judge and will submit a report to Chief Executive Lee at the conclusion of its investigation, the Hong Kong Free Press reported. Lee, who announced the formation of the panel during a news conference, said the government will use the report to reform the city’s building management and maintenance to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
“I will make sure the committee works effectively and efficiently,” he said. “I will see what information the committee needs to exercise its duties.”
Seven of the eight tower blocks at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Tai Po went up in flames Wednesday, making it the deadliest fire in the city in more than seven decades, the BBC reported. It took more than 2,000 firefighters two days to completely douse the flames.
Officials feared the death toll could go up.
Law enforcement officials have arrested 13 people on suspicion of manslaughter in connection with the blaze. Among those arrested were the directors of a construction company behind the building of the towers.
Investigators have found that a protective netting and foam boards used around the buildings did not meet flame retardant standards, the BBC reported. Woo Ying-ming, the commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, said officials purchased the nets from a local supplier after a typhoon damaged the original ones over the summer.
Additionally, fire officials said the buildings’ fire alarms weren’t working effectively.
