Hong Kong Launches Three-Day Remembrance After Blaze

(MENAFN) Hong Kong initiated a three-day commemoration on Saturday to pay tribute to the victims of the city’s most catastrophic fire in many years, which resulted in 128 fatalities and left 200 individuals unaccounted for, according to reports from South China Morning Post.

Chief Executive John Lee, accompanied by senior officials, Executive Council members, and public servants, assembled at the government headquarters early in the day to hold a three-minute moment of silence, as reported by a news outlet.

During the mourning period, national and regional flags displayed at government facilities will remain lowered to half-mast.

Rescue teams continued their efforts for the fourth consecutive day, even though the blaze that swept through several buildings in the Wang Fuk Court residential complex has now been contained.

To date, 128 people have lost their lives and 79 have sustained injuries, while the whereabouts of another 200 remain uncertain, according to the daily news outlet.

The fire erupted around midday on Wednesday within the vast housing complex—home to over 1,900 units—and spread swiftly, fueled by bamboo scaffolding attached to the exterior for renovation activities.

The estate is comprised of eight high-rise blocks and shelters an estimated population exceeding 4,000 residents.

Authorities have arrested two directors and an engineering adviser from Prestige Construction & Engineering Company on allegations of manslaughter.

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