HK fire death toll rises to 160, six still missing

The death toll from last month's Tai Po fire has risen to 160 after DNA tests confirmed that previously discovered remains belonged to two victims, police said on Tuesday. Six people are still missing.

Of the 160 bodies, the identities of 40 have yet to be confirmed, police added.

At a news conference on Tuesday afternoon, Commissioner of Police Joe Chow Yat-ming said the remains were identified as those of an elderly woman and a domestic worker. Family members of both are in Hong Kong and provided DNA samples for confirmation.

Chow said police, in collaboration with the Housing Department, removed all bamboo scaffolding that fell during the fire.

During the removal process, skeletal remains were discovered and further examination is still needed to determine whether they are human, animal, or part of previously found remains, he added.

The Fire Services Department has pumped out water from all seven buildings affected by the blaze, and no additional remains were discovered, Chow said.

Tsang Shuk-yin, chief superintendent of police and head of the casualty enquiry unit, said the status of some missing people has been clarified: 12 are safe, four had passed away before the fire, and six live outside the Wang Fuk Court residential estate.

Six missing cases remain unresolved, Tsang said.

Over the past several days, police have collected DNA samples from 162 family members of victims.

The Government Laboratory and the forensics department have prioritized the testing to speed up identification and notify families, Chow said.

Chow added that police will continue working with the Housing Department to remove scaffolding and Styrofoam from the exteriors of the fire-hit buildings.

Police have uncovered 21 fraud cases related to the fire and made two arrests.

Authorities are also investigating six suspected cases of false documents related to safety scaffolding nets used during building renovations. City building regulators are expected to announce stricter rules within the week.

The estates currently under investigation include Baguio Villa in Pok Fu Lam, Fung Wah Estate in Chai Wan, Fortress Garden in North Point, Yee Kok Court in Sham Shui Po, Ching Lai Court in Cheung Sha Wan, and Marigold Mansions in Hung Hom. No arrests have been made in these cases so far.

The Independent Checking Unit of the Housing Bureau continued extracting concrete core samples from seven affected buildings in Wang Fuk Court.

As of Tuesday night, scaffold nets had been removed from the exteriors of 230 private buildings, including two cases completed by government contractors, following a Buildings Department order.

The department is expected to announce new regulations within the week requiring scaffold nets used at construction sites to be sampled on-site and certified as compliant with standards before installation, allowing external wall work to resume quickly.

Meanwhile, the Labour Department continues inspecting fire protection facilities and fire emergency preparedness at building maintenance sites with large-scale scaffolding.

As of 4 pm on Tuesday, the department had inspected 371 construction sites, issued 189 written warnings and 101 improvement notices, and initiated 25 prosecutions.

Contact the writers at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com