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As the death toll from the fatal fire in Tai Po climbed to 156 on Tuesday, Hong Kong authorities have announced that occupants of the only block that escaped the inferno will be allowed to return and fetch personal belongings.
As of 4pm on Tuesday, a total of 127 remains of victims killed in the fire tragedy at Wang Fuk Court had been identified, Chief Superintendent Karen Tsang of the police’s casualty inquiry unit said.
She also said the remaining 29 bodies found at the fire site had yet to be identified, and around 30 residents remained unaccounted for.
The deadly blaze engulfed seven of the eight buildings in the residential estate that housed more than 1,980 households.
Tenants of Wang Chi House, the only tower that was not engulfed in flames, may return to their units to retrieve personal belongings or valuable items on Wednesday and Thursday, the Home Affairs Department (HAD) said on Tuesday.
They will be allowed to enter their homes any time between 9am and 9pm on both days. They must bring their identification documents and register at a registration point near Kwong Yee House of Kwong Fuk Estate.
Each household can send up to two people at a time, and they are allowed to stay for up to 1.5 hours.
They must leave immediately after fetching their belongings because police investigations and follow-up work remain ongoing, said District Officer (Eastern) Henry Lai of the HAD.
So far, police have arrested 15 people – 14 men and one woman, aged between 40 and 77 – for alleged manslaughter in connection with the fire.
Among the suspects were individuals linked to the main construction contractor, a construction consultancy firm, and subcontractors in charge of scaffolding and the exterior walls.
The police force also told HKFP on Tuesday that they were aware of photos circulating online, such as on discussion forum LIHKG and social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which appeared to show burned-down apartment units and remains of the victims.
However, the police did not confirm the authenticity of the images, nor did they respond to questions on how the photos leaked, given that only frontline staff such as firefighters and officers from the force’s Disaster Victim Identification Unit were allowed to enter the buildings.
The police said they were “highly concerned” about the circulation of the photos and would contact the relevant platforms for removal.
“The police urge the public, out of respect for the deceased, not to retain or share images of the disaster site so as to avoid inflicting secondary trauma on the victims’ families and the wider community,” read an email reply from the force.
