As forensic workers continued the grim process of retrieving bodies from the blackened towers, mourners arrived in their thousands with white flowers to pay tribute to the victims of the city’s deadliest fire in decades.
Some whispered prayers, others stood in silence, staring at the burnt-out husks of the towers, tears streaming down their faces.
Affected resident Ms Kwok and her son revisit the site of their now-destroyed home.Credit: Daniel Ceng
As Hong Kong entered its second official day of mourning, there is a curdling fury at how this catastrophe occurred, and with such grave cost to human life.
Handwritten notes placed among the growing tribute of flowers called for justice and accountability for those responsible, laying blame on a broken system.
“The problem exists in the system and God is watching,” one read.
The death toll stands at 128, but this figure has not been updated since Friday, and 44 of the dead are yet to be identified. A further 150 people remain unaccounted for. At least one more body was recovered from the towers on Sunday morning, the South China Morning Post reported.
Indonesian domestic helper Alidia weeps as she mourns the passing of fire victims.Credit: Daniel Ceng
The blaze has been compared to the Grenfell Tower fire in London – which killed 72 people in June 2017 – and it has triggered similar accusations of lax safety standards and corruption.
For more than a year, bamboo scaffolding draped in green mesh had covered the facade of the Wang Fuk towers. The site had been inspected 16 times for safety and authorities had issued six improvement notices.
The cause of the fire has not been confirmed, but Hong Kong authorities have arrested 11 people involved in the towers’ renovation, amid suspicion that the mesh and the use of styrofoam in the renovation materials accelerated the blaze.
As well as Hong Kong locals, Indonesian and Filipino community members were among the mourners laying flowers at the site on Sunday, many of them live-in domestic workers on their first day off since the tragedy.
Mourners becoming emotional as they lay flowers for the victims of the Tai Po fire.Credit: Daniel Ceng
The death toll includes at least seven Indonesian workers and one Filipino, who were among the 119 Indonesians and 82 Filipinos that authorities believed lived and worked in the towers.
Yani, a 30-year-old Indonesian domestic worker, wept as she paid tribute to her friend who died in the blaze, leaving behind a five-year-old son in Indonesia. They came from the same village and had been friends since childhood.
“The entire community has broken hearts,” she said. “They came here to make money and they have lost their lives.”
Candy Chan, who has lived in the Tai Po neighbourhood for 30 years and has friends who lost family members in the fires, said people were struggling to comprehend how this could have happened and she wanted accountability.
People place flowers near the site to mourn the victims of the deadly fire at Wang Fuk Court.Credit: Chan Long Hei/AP
“It’s a tragedy due to some human mistakes. I cannot imagine why it has happened in Hong Kong,” she said. “I really believe someone needs to be [held] responsible for this.”
Amid the grief, vestiges of the political dissent that ruptured Hong Kong five years ago during Beijing’s national security crackdown simmered beneath the surface.
This has coalesced around the Hong Kong government’s decision to phase out the use of traditional bamboo scaffolding, long a feature of the city’s skyline, in favour of metal materials used in construction in mainland China.
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“It’s the mesh that caused the fire, not the bamboo. The Hong Kong government is disregarding the life of human beings. They’re a power that murders people, just like the horrible CCP. Never use metal scaffolding,” said one note left among the flowers on Sunday, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.
Since 2020, hundreds of pro-democracy figures, opposition groups, media figures and trade unionists have been arrested and jailed for sedition under national security laws imposed by Beijing, wiping out dissent in Hong Kong.
On Saturday, police arrested university student Miles Kwan, 24, on sedition charges for launching a petition outlining four demands of the Hong Kong government, including an independent probe into possible corruption, Reuters reported.
Police have maintained a strong presence around towers and on Friday they ordered the disbanding of a community-driven donations hub where hundreds of people had gathered to distribute clothes, food and bedding. Police tents have since been set up on the site.
The donations hub popped up organically using the same methods of mobilisation, social media and Signal chat groups, used by pro-democracy protesters to organise in massive numbers to challenge Beijing’s tightening control over the city in 2019.
Pro-Beijing newspaper Tai Kung Pao said “remnants of the black-clad rioters and pro-democracy activists mingled among the well-meaning citizens” and that police were concerned they were hijacking disaster relief “to sow discord and carry out anti-China” conspiracies.
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