TEHRAN – Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Friday expressed condolences to the families of the victims of Hong Kong’s devastating house fire, in which at least 128 people were confirmed dead and nearly 200 missing.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Bakaei expressed sympathy to the Iranian government and people’s families, as well as the Chinese authorities. He also wished a speedy recovery for the dozens of people injured in the fire.
The blaze, one of the deadliest to hit the city in decades, was extinguished 42 hours after it first erupted in Tai Po’s densely populated public housing complex, officials said. At least 79 residents were injured and hundreds are missing, with the death toll likely to rise further.
The fire broke out on the lower floors of Wang Qing Residence, part of the eight-story Wang Fu court complex and home to more than 4,000 residents, many of them elderly. At the time, the site was undergoing renovations and all buildings were wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and green protective mesh. Investigators found flammable polystyrene boards with the construction company’s name on them blocking multiple windows, which authorities said helped the blaze spread quickly through multiple buildings.
“The mesh net caught fire and quickly spread to the polystyrene boards around the windows, resulting in fire on other floors and buildings,” the official statement said, adding that the extreme heat caused the windows to shatter and the fire to move indoors.
Firefighters reportedly faced dangerous conditions with temperatures exceeding 500°C (930°F) inside parts of the building. Fallen scaffolding and troop rekindling also hampered their efforts. Officials said an inspection found that all eight buildings in the complex had non-functioning fire alarms.
Police are expected to spend several weeks investigating the cause of the fire and how quickly it spread to the premises. Meanwhile, as reconstruction teams continue to search for missing people in the ruins, displaced residents, many of whom are spending their third night in makeshift shelters, demand answers.