Casualty Count Rises in Hong Kong

The casualty count from the major fire at the Wang Fuk Court residential complex in northern Hong Kong has reached 44, with hundreds still considered missing.

Hong Kong authorities have announced the arrest of three individuals, accusing them of manslaughter due to negligence. The police reported that the arrested individuals, aged between 52 and 68, work for the construction company that was conducting renovation work in the building. Two of them are company executives, while the other is a consultant engineer.

Authorities stated that materials discovered on the exterior of the building likely lacked fire resistance. "We have grounds to believe that the company’s management exhibited gross negligence, which led to this tragedy and caused the uncontrollable spread of fire, resulting in a large-scale disaster," said a police representative.

The fire affected seven out of eight high-rise buildings and was extinguished by over 700 firefighters. The morning after the tragedy, firefighters were still working to extinguish several hotspots.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, as it broke out during ongoing renovation work at the complex. On Thursday morning, Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee stated that 279 individuals were reported missing, though firefighters later confirmed contact with some of them. More than 900 people have found temporary shelter.