Anger swelling in Hong Kong over deadliest fire in more than 70 years

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But as firefighters work to bring the fire under control and make progress with rescue efforts, anger is already swelling among Hongkongers about the causes of the fire.

The fire has also tapped into the social anxiety in Hong Kong around affordable housing, where sky-high property prices mean that many people live in tightly packed high-rise apartments that can become death traps when disaster strikes.

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Residents of Wang Fuk Court had complained for months about shoddy behaviour from the construction company, said Michael Mo, a former Hong Kong district councillor who now lives in the UK. He was born in the Tai Po area where Wang Fuk Court is located.

Last year, the text of an email purportedly from the Hong Kong labour department was posted on a Wang Fuk Court residents group. Responding to inquiries about the maintenance works, the email said that because the works didn’t involve open flames, “the risk of fire from the scaffolding is relatively low”. It said that the Labour Department’s regulations did not cover flame-retardant standards for scaffolding. The department has been contacted for comment.

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