HONG KONG: Hong Kong entered a three-day mourning period on Saturday (Nov 29) as thousands of residents laid flowers and paid tribute to the 128 people killed in one of the city’s deadliest fires.
Crowds streamed into a small park next to the charred remains of Wang Fuk Court, the Tai Po residential complex that burned for more than 40 hours. Many carried white or yellow flowers, leaving handwritten notes and photographs for neighbours, friends and strangers lost in the blaze.
By nightfall, the area was packed with sombre mourners dressed in dark colours. Among them was a 69-year-old resident surnamed Wong, who had lived in the estate for more than four decades. She quietly listed the neighbours she had lost, including a grandmother and her 18-month-old grandson.
“Yesterday it was confirmed they died,” she said.
Even for survivors, grief was deep. Insurance worker Wong Kuen-mui, 67, said the fire had erased “forty years’ worth of memories”, including childhood photos of her own children.
CITY IN MOURNING
Across the district, a community hall was turned into a “condolence point”, one of 18 set up citywide. Dozens queued in silence to sign condolence books. “I can only hope they rest in peace,” said a 52-year-old man surnamed Ki. Another resident, Raymond Tang, said he wished the deceased could “cross the sea of suffering”.
At 8am, Chief Executive John Lee and senior officials observed three minutes of silence outside government headquarters, where the flags of China and Hong Kong flew at half-mast. Government-organised celebratory events have been cancelled or postponed during the mourning period.
China has launched a national campaign targeting fire risks in high-rises, state broadcaster CCTV said.
The Philippine consulate confirmed that one overseas Filipino worker was among the victims.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/hong-kong-begins-mourning-after-fire-kills-least-128-5497556
