As forensic workers continued the grim process of recovering bodies from the blackened towers, mourners brought white flowers in their thousands to pay tribute to the victims of the city’s deadliest fire in decades.
Some whispered prayers, others stood silently, staring at the burning husks of the towers, tears streaming down their faces.
Affected resident Ms Cook and her son revisit the site of their now destroyed home.Credit: Daniel Seng
As Hong Kong enters its second official day of mourning, the disaster unfolds, and is a whirlwind with such a severe cost to human life.
Handwritten notes included in the growing floral tributes demanded justice and accountability for those responsible, blaming a broken system.
“There is a problem in the system and God is watching,” read one.
The death toll rose to 146 on Sunday night (AEDT) as investigators discovered more bodies in the burning buildings, with 44 still to be identified. Another 150 people are unaccounted for. At least one more body was recovered from the towers on Sunday morning South China Morning Post Reported.
Indonesian domestic helper Alidia weeps as she mourns the deaths of fire victims.Credit: Daniel Seng
The blaze has been compared to the Grenfell Tower fire in London – which killed 72 people in June 2017 – and has sparked similar allegations of poor safety standards and corruption.
For more than a year, bamboo scaffolding in green mesh covered the facade of Wang Fok Towers. The site was inspected 16 times for safety and authorities issued six improvement notices.
The cause of the fire has not been confirmed, but Hong Kong authorities have arrested 11 people involved in the renovation of the towers, amid suspicions that the use of mesh and styrofoam in renovation materials may have fueled the fire.
Along with Hong Kong locals, members of the Indonesian and Filipino community were among mourners laying flowers at the site on Sunday, many of them domestic workers on their first day off since the tragedy.
Mourners become emotional as they lay flowers for the victims of the Tai Po fire.Credit: Daniel Seng
The death toll includes at least seven Indonesian workers and one Filipino, who were among 119 Indonesians and 82 Filipinos believed by authorities to be living and working in the towers.
Yani, a 30-year-old domestic worker from Indonesia, wept as she paid tribute to her friend who died in the fire, leaving behind a five-year-old son in Indonesia. They came from the same village and were friends since childhood.
“The whole community has broken hearts,” he said. “They came here to make money and they lost their lives.”
Candy Chen, who has lived in the Tai Po neighborhood for 30 years and has friends who have lost family members in the fire, said people are struggling to understand how this could happen and she wants accountability.
People plant flowers near the site to mourn the victims of the deadly fire at Wang Fok Court.Credit: Chen Long He/AP
“It’s a tragedy because of some human error. I can’t even imagine why this happened in Hong Kong,” he said. “I truly believe that someone needs to be [held] is responsible for it. “
A national security crackdown simmers beneath the surface, amid the vestiges of political dissension that has ripped through Hong Kong during Beijing’s crackdown on national security.
This has surrounded the Hong Kong government’s decision to promote the use of traditional bamboo scaffolding, a feature of the city’s skyline, in favor of metal materials used in construction in mainland China.
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According to the Chinese Communist Party, “It is the mesh that caused the fire, not the bamboo.
Since 2020, pro-democracy figures, opposition groups, media figures and trade unionists have been arrested for sedition under national security laws imposed by Beijing and purged of dissent in Hong Kong.
Police on Saturday arrested Miles Karwan, a 24-year-old university student accused of starting a petition to outline four demands from the Hong Kong government, including an independent investigation into possible corruption, according to Reuters.
Police have maintained a strong presence around the towers and on Friday ordered the closure of a community-run donation center where hundreds of people had gathered to distribute clothes, food and bedding. Since then, police tents have been placed at the site.
Donation hubs have physically popped up using the same methods of mobilization, social media and signal chat groups that pro-democracy protesters used in 2019 to organize in large numbers to challenge Beijing’s tight control over the city.
A pro-Benjing newspaper Tai Kung Pao He said that “remnants of black cloaks and remnants of pro-democracy activists mingled with citizens of good will” and police feared they were escaping the destruction to carry out “discord dwarfs and anti-China” plots.
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