Hong Kong mourns those lost to fire as investigators search for remains
Wednesday's blaze has claimed the lives of at least 128 people with dozens unaccounted for, making it Hong Kong's deadliest fire since 1948.
Monday 1 December 2025 10:19, UK
Grief was not lonely today in Hong Kong. Three days after the worst fire in the history of modern Hong Kong, it feels as though it has barely sunk in.
The weekend at least lent them time to pay tribute, and gave them some space to reflect.
People came in droves to lay flowers, so many a queuing system was needed.
Official books of condolences were also set up in multiple parts of the city.
It was the first day large teams of investigators were able to enter the site. Dozens of them in hazmat suits were bused in, their work the grimmest of tasks.
Every so often you could see a flashlight peep through the window of an upper blackened window, a reminder that the fire services are still undertaking dangerous work.
But the reach of the authorities is ramping up here.
Yesterday a grassroots aid distribution centre was the vibrant heart of the response.
It received notice at 4am that it needed to pack up and move on. By 10.30am, the mountains of donations were gone, residents watched on, bewildered.
The task apparently will be handed over to professional NGOs.
"I think the government's biggest concern is due to some past incidents," one organiser tells us. "They may liken this to previous events. The essence looks similar."
She's careful with her words, but she's clearly hinting at major pro-democracy protests that were crushed by authorities in 2019.
Any sort of mass gathering is now seen as a risk, the system is still very nervous.
And they might well be because people here are angry.
What, they ask, did the government know? What did it choose to ignore?
Indeed, Paste BN has learnt that residents raised their fears over fire safety connected to extensive renovations on Wang Fuk Court as early as September 2024.
They flagged the suspected flammability of green nets being used to cover the building.
Labour Department acknowledges reply 'was unclear'
In a statement to Paste BN, Hong Kong's Labour Department acknowledges that, in reply to these complaints, it told residents the mesh was designed to limit objects falling from the scaffolding and that "current safety regulations applied to construction sites by the Labour Department do not cover flame retardant standards for scaffolding netting or any materials".
They now acknowledge this reply to residents "was unclear and caused misunderstanding".
Also in this correspondence, the Labour Department judged the risk of a fire on the scaffolding was "relatively low", because the works did not include activities such as welding.
In its statement to Paste BN, the Labour Department says this did not mean the risk was negligible, and that its reply to the enquiry also noted contractors had been reminded to "implement fire prevention measures".
On 4 December, the Labour Department sent an email to Jason Poon, a civil engineer-turned-activist, who was working with residents, saying that "the mesh's flame retardant properties meet safety standards".
But many clearly didn't believe that.
Posts spanning many months on a residents' Facebook group continued to voice their fears.
When a much smaller fire broke out in the city last month, one resident posted: "All the materials outside are flammable, I feel really worried."
"I feel that same way," another replied. "The government has no sense of concern."
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For Poon, who dedicates much of his time to fighting lax safety standards in Hong Kong's construction industry, the whole experience has been devastating.
"They knew all the maintenance was using corner-cutting materials, but they didn't do anything," he says.
"This is a man-made disaster."
In its statement to Paste BN, Hong Kong's Labour Department says it carried out 16 inspections of the Wang Fuk Court project between July 2024 and November 2025. It says it issued six notices and initiated three "prosecutions" following inspections, and "repeatedly reminded the contractor in writing to take appropriate fire prevention measures."
For mourners in Hong Kong, grief may still be the prominent force, but anger is not that far behind.