After typhoon damage, builders used ‘cunning methods’ to hide non-approved netting, officials say.
Investigators probing last week’s catastrophic fire in Hong Kong believe those in charge of refurbishing the seven destroyed towers used substandard, non-fire-resistant netting to cover the scaffolding to save money.
The news comes as the death toll from Wednesday’s inferno at the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po reached 151, with many still unaccounted for.
The fire is being described as Hong Kong’s worst in 70 years.
It erupted at around 2.50pm local time and quickly spread to seven of the estate’s eight towers, which had been under refurbishment since last year.
Hong Kong police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) have so far arrested 14 people, including from the project’s main contractor, an engineering consultant, and a subcontractor from the scaffolding company, South China Morning Post reports.
Officials today told reporters that seven out of 20 protective net samples taken from the estate had failed tests for fire-retardant standards.
Substandard replacement netting
ICAC chief Danny Woo Ying-ming said preliminary investigations found that after a typhoon in July that damaged sections of netting, some suspects bought substandard replacement netting at almost half the price of the approved type.
Woo said they bought 2,300 rolls of substandard netting at HK$54 per roll, or US$6.90, enough to cover all eight of Wang Fuk Court’s towers, the Post reported.
Eric Chan Kwok-ki, Hong Kong’s chief secretary for administration, said the suspects used “cunning methods” to mix non-fire-resistant netting in among fire-resistant netting to avoid detection, the Post reports.
“Samples which failed the requirements were found in spots difficult to reach – where firefighters had to climb out – to avoid detection by authorities,” Chan told the media.
The investigation continues.
• Subscribe here to get stories about construction around the world in your inbox three times a week
