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Death toll in Hong Kong fire rises to 44 with 279 still missing, authorities say
Three men were arrested on manslaughter suspicion as investigators probe fire safety violations after a blaze killed 44 and left 279 missing in a Tai Po housing complex.
- On Wednesday, a blaze tore through multiple 32-storey towers at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex, Tai Po district, killing at least 44 and leaving 279 unaccounted for.
- Investigators say flames raced up bamboo scaffolding and construction netting, while inspectors found netting, waterproof tarpaulin, and styrofoam fueled rapid fire spread; the Hong Kong government began phasing out bamboo scaffolding earlier this year.
- Fire Services Department mobilised over 1,200 emergency personnel including 760 firefighters and battled a No. 5 alarm for more than 10 hours amid heat, debris, and limited ladder reach.
- Hong Kong's chief executive John Lee pledged a `thorough investigation` after three arrested suspects, including two construction firm directors and a consultant, face manslaughter probes, police said they showed `gross negligence`.
- The fire ranks as Hong Kong's deadliest in decades, worse than 1996's Kowloon blaze, and commentators warn it may stoke resentment before the early December city-wide legislative election.
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For much of my twenties, I travelled back and forth between urban Hong Kong and the New Territories, a hilly area where my university campus sat. On countless afternoons, just outside of a campus gate, I would board a bus and watch the lush mountains in the distance as the bus skirted Tolo Harbour. Soon, the bus would take a left turn, and a row of high towers with light brown façades would come into view. That was Wang Fuk Court. [time-brightc…
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Total News Sources793
Leaning Left140Leaning Right104Center204Last UpdatedBias Distribution46% Center
Bias Distribution
- 46% of the sources are Center
46% Center
L 31%
C 46%
R 23%
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