The Hong Kong government on Sunday expressed its gratitude for the central government’s support as the deadly fire killed at least 146 as of Sunday 4 pm, with 159 residents from the missing persons list confirmed safe.
an official release on Sunday, the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) government said it wishes to express “its sincere gratitude to the Hong Kong and Macao Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and all relevant departments of Guangdong Province for their staunch support and prompt assistance, including the provision of numerous pieces of necessary equipment to the HKSAR, such as drones, exoskeleton devices, protective gear, and medical supplies. This significantly assisted the relevant departments in their emergency response and the follow-up efforts.”
Chinese mainland authorities on Saturday activated a mechanism to coordinate emergency supplies for disaster response and relief, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM).
A disaster aid package has been provided to the HKSAR government, including portable outdoor charging stations, heavy-duty conveyors, blowers, respirators, goggles, protective suits, headlamps, and waterproof boots, the MEM said.
The National Fire and Rescue Administration further supplied protective boots and other materials to the HKSAR government, supplementing the previously provided emergency equipment which includes lighting drones, reconnaissance drones and fire rescue boots, according to the MEM
The deadly blaze broke out at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s Tai Po on Wednesday afternoon.
The HKSAR government said at a press conference on Sunday afternoon that the Police Casualty Enquiry Unit has continued its tracing efforts and has successfully contacted 159 residents from the missing persons list, all of whom have been confirmed safe.
Chief Superintendent of the Casualty Enquiry Centre Tsang Shuk-kuen stated at the press conference that as of 4 pm Sunday, the death toll had risen to 146, including 18 bodies recovered by the police. Additionally, 79 people are injured. Police do not rule out the possibility that the death toll will continue to rise.
At present, 54 bodies remain unidentified, and there are 100 cases where the victims cannot be traced, per the police spokesperson.
Since Saturday, the HKSAR government has deployed more than 100 professional staff from the Housing Department and they have completed preliminary inspections of over 1,500 units across the six blocks.
Hong Kong’s Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) held a fundraiser show on Saturday evening. TVB General Manager Eric Tsang Chi-wai, together with a cultural company going by Fusheng, donated a total of HK$3 million ($385, 000), pushing the total amount of donations raised to HK$100 million, news site the Paper reported.
According to the TVB Weibo account, the charity show raised a total of HK$118 million on the night to support the fire accident of Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong’s Tai Po.