Hong Kong Warned of Tower Fire Risk Days Before Killer Blaze
Firefighters hose down a building at the Wang Fuk Court residential estate in Hong Kong, on Nov. 27.
Photographer: Lam Yik/BloombergHong Kong warned renovators at a high-rise complex about fire hazards one week before the estate was wrecked by the city’s deadliest fire in decades, raising questions over whether officials did enough to prevent the disaster.
The Hong Kong Labour Department said it had inspected the estate 16 times since renovation work started in July last year. Members of the public had complained about “issues relating to the scaffolding” in September 2024, it added in a statement emailed on Thursday to Bloomberg News.