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The city's leader, John Lee, has directed the formation of an independent committee to investigate the cause of a tragic inferno that killed at least 151 residents.

A Fire of Historic Proportions

Last Wednesday, the majority of the apartment buildings at the housing complex—which was subject to extensive renovations—went up in flames. Investigators have since found that safety scaffolding mesh surrounding the buildings failed to meet fire safety regulations.

A minimum of 13 people have been detained on suspicion of potential negligent homicide, among them the directors of a construction company.

"It is a terrible tragedy, it is a big fire. Changes are required. Failures have been detected in different stages. That is exactly why we must respond rigorously to make certain all these loopholes are eliminated," remarked Mr. Lee.

The Probe and Its Consequences

The fire—that propagated rapidly both upwards and across the separate towers—was not completely extinguished by Friday morning, some 40 hours after it started, and required more than 2,000 fire service personnel to bring under control.

That very day, authorities started accessing the buildings to gather evidence. Authorities say the inquiry could take three to four weeks.

Shortcomings Uncovered

Multiple inhabitants have stated they failed to hear a smoke detector when the fire erupted. Local firefighters discovered that alarms in each building were malfunctioning.

Hong Kong's buildings department has temporarily suspended renovation projects on numerous private sites.

Demands for Probe and Detentions

Separately, authorities are said to have arrested a 24-year-old man on charges related to subversion on Saturday. He was among a collective demanding an separate review into the fire. An online petition collected more than 10,000 signatures in under 24 hours before its page was taken down.

Two other people, including a past council member, were also detained by officers, as reported by press accounts.

Global Response

The rights group and The monitoring body have both denounced the reported arrests.

"The moment has come for the Hong Kong authorities to thoroughly and publicly probe the reasons of the tragic incident...instead of suppressing those who pose valid inquiries," stated the organization.

Historical Context and Demographics

The residential complex was built in the early 1980s and had provided close to 2,000 units for some 4,600 occupants, based on a 2021 government census.

Approximately 40 percent of its inhabitants are thought to be older than 65 years old. A number have been occupants of the subsidised housing estate since it was built.

The city's second-deadliest fire on file claimed 176 people in 1948 and was the result of a detonation at street level at a commercial building. The deadliest was at Happy Valley Racecourse in the early 1900s, when over 600 attendees died.