Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) arrested eight people today in its probe into possible corruption in the refurbishment of the housing estate that burst into flames on Wednesday.
So far, 128 people, including a firefighter, are known to have died in the blaze that engulfed seven of the eight, 31-storey towers of the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in the Tai Po District of the New Territories, South China Morning Post reports. The towers had been undergoing refurbishment since January 2024.
The number of injured has risen to 79, including 12 firefighters, and the status of 200 people remains unclear.
According to the Post, it’s the deadliest fire to hit Hong Kong in 70 years.
Hong Kong’s security minister Chris Tang today said the fire started from the ground floor of one of the towers, but spread upward quickly, the Post reported.
He said the fire spread “unusually fast” because of highly flammable styrofoam boards fixed to the windows. When ignited, they caused windows to shatter, which spread the fire inside.
“Both indoors and outdoors saw massive fires, which caused this disaster,” he said, according to the Post.
11 now arrested
The eight people ICAC arrested today included consultants, scaffolding subcontractors and what ICAC called a project “middleman”.
They are seven men and one woman, aged between 40 and 63. Four are from the consulting firm of the refurbishment project: two directors and two project managers, responsible for supervising the project.
Three others are scaffolding subcontractors, including a couple who own the company, while the remaining arrestee is the alleged middleman.
ICAC officers searched 13 premises, including the offices of the consulting firm and the scaffolding subcontractor, as well as the residences of the arrestees.
Yesterday, Hong Kong police arrested three men, who they said were in charge of a construction company, for manslaughter, bringing the number of arrests to 11.
The Post yesterday identified Prestige Construction & Engineering Co Ltd as the company in charge of the refurbishment.
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