Survivors who escaped the massive blaze that killed 168 people at a Hong Kong housing estate last year told a public hearing on Tuesday that they still blame themselves for not being able to save their neighbours.
The November 26 fire at Wang Fuk Court, a high-rise complex in Tai Po, was the world’s deadliest residential building blaze since 1980 and Hong Kong’s worst since 1948.
The inferno tore through seven of the estate’s eight towers, which were undergoing renovation and were covered in bamboo scaffolding, netting and foam boards — materials believed to have accelerated the spread of the flames.
Three residents gave emotional testimonies before an independent inquiry, saying they did not hear any fire alarms that day.
Tse Yuk-wa, who lived on the third floor near where the fire is believed to have started, said smoke entered her kitchen but she initially mistook it for dust from construction work. She said a member of the building’s management staff later knocked on her door to warn her.
“I thought that it can’t be. I didn’t hear the fire alarm,” she said.
She managed to escape with her two cats, but recalled seeing smoke billowing over the complex when she looked back. “The roof was like a stove,” she said.
“I blame myself because I wasn’t able to go back up and warn my neighbours,” she added, breaking down. “I could only stay there and watch the fire burn.”
Her testimony left some reporters visibly emotional.
Fire alarms in seven of the estate’s eight blocks had been switched off, the inquiry heard in its opening remarks.
Another resident, Ko Yee-lui, said she fled using a lift after noticing smoke in her building, adding that she felt “lucky” to have escaped.
“I can’t imagine how helpless people must have been,” she said, expressing regret that she did not alert others.
A third resident, Leung Ho-hin, said he saw two neighbours attempt to use a fire hose, but no water came out.
The inquiry’s chair, Judge David Lok, urged survivors not to blame themselves, saying events unfolded too quickly for them to act.
Government counsel Jenkin Suen told the hearing that authorities would not shirk responsibility and promised “systemic reforms.”
Evidence presented earlier indicated that officials had failed to adequately respond to complaints about construction workers smoking on-site and the use of flammable materials during renovation work.
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