Vox Pop by Khalel Vallo in Hong Kong
Onlookers at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s Tai Po District described yesterday their shock of seeing a huge housing complex engulfed in flames on the previous day, with bedlam in the neighbourhood, appealing to the authorities for better rescue efforts.
The blaze broke out on Wednesday afternoon at the housing complex, which is a densely populated estate made up of eight high-rise towers in Hong Kong’s New Territories.
The Post was at the scene of the fire at 6 p.m. last night and saw firefighters still battling flames in a number of units. The air was full of choking smoke. Distraught people were milling around waiting for news of their loved ones.
Speaking to the Post, several bystanders and eye witnesses of the inferno said that they were shocked and overwhelmed by the scale and speed of the fire at the complex.
Two 13-year-old middle schoolers, Yannis and Ryan, said that this was the first time they have seen eight buildings on fire at the same time. They described the scene as “amazing and surprising,” and noted the inferno’s impact on their community: heavy traffic jams, destruction of schoolmates’ homes, and loss of clothes and homework for children whose families lived nearby.
Meanwhile, Dio, 43, said that he rushed to the scene at about 10 p.m. after finishing work, only to be met by what he called “a big inferno tower.” The Philippine national expressed deep concern for the many foreign domestic workers who live in the area and whose safety remains uncertain, and added that he documented the fire by taking videos and streaming on live social media platforms to inform the public.
Another eye witness, 35-year-old Gaston, a correspondent from Argentina, who was there when the fire began, described how the flames spread “too fast,” shocking residents who initially thought the fire might be limited in the end. While he did not know anyone personally living in the affected flats, he said that the people in the neighbourhood rallied to support one another, but also pointed out the fear over building safety and wider structural issues.
The interviewees called for better rescue and detection measures. “We need more drones to find and rescue more people inside the building, to fly over the building and scan inside if there is anybody left,” Yannis said.
At 12:30 a.m. this morning, the inferno’s death toll stood at 83.
Bystanders watch as Hong Kong firefighters work hard to extinguish lingering flames at the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Tai Po District of Hong Kong’s New Territories yesterday evening, after Wednesday’s deadly inferno. – Photos: Khalel Vallo
