Fire alarms in skyscrapers devastated by fire in Hong Kong did not work: 128 dead

At least 128 people have died and nearly 200 are missing after the fire that devastated the urbanization Wang Fuk Court de Hong Kong.

He fire started in tower 8 of the residential complex, made up of eight 31-story blocks built in 1984 and inhabited by about 4.600 personasmany of them elderly. Seven of the eight towers have been affected by the fire.

The origin of the fire

Wang Fuk Court was immersed in a renewal process worth 36.6 million euros, a proposal that generated discontent among many residents last year.

According to preliminary expert reports, the flames spread to six other buildings in a few minutes due to the use of highly flammable expanded polystyrene sheets installed in elevator shafts and exterior mesh networks without fire resistance.

Furthermore, it did not help andl bamboo scaffolding installed in several of the skyscrapers, which spread the flames even further.

Five arrested

This Friday they were arrested two directors of the architecture company in charge of the renovation of the residential complex whose fire has so far left 94 dead.

These are two executives from Will Power Architectswhich acted as a consultant for the renovation project of the eight towers that make up Wang Fuk Court, according to South China Morning Post.

With these two arrests The number of people under arrest rises to five for his alleged responsibility in the fire.

On Thursday authorities detained three senior managers of the construction company Prestige Construction & Engineering, responsible for the rehabilitation works: administrators Hau Wa-kin and Ho Kin-yip, and agent Steve Wong Chung-kee, all accused of serious reckless homicide.

This firm has a history of sanctions for serious breaches in workplace safety, according to the investigation.