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The city's leader, John Lee, has ordered the creation of an independent committee to examine the reasons of a tragic inferno that took a minimum of 151 people.

A Fire of Historic Proportions

On Wednesday last week, the majority of the apartment buildings at the Wang Fuk Court—which was subject to significant upgrades—were engulfed by fire. Investigators have since found that construction site netting installed on the buildings failed to meet flame retardant standards.

At least 13 people have been detained on suspicion of potential negligent homicide, among them the executives of a contractor.

"It is a terrible tragedy, it is a major blaze. Changes are required. Yes, we have identified failures in different stages. This is precisely the reason we must respond rigorously to ensure that all these gaps are plucked," he said.

The Probe and Its Consequences

The fire—that propagated rapidly both upwards and from building to building—was only fully doused by Friday morning, some 40 hours after it started, and took over 2,000 fire service personnel to subdue.

The same day, authorities started accessing the buildings to gather evidence. Authorities say the probe could require approximately a month.

Shortcomings Uncovered

Several residents have stated they failed to hear a fire alarm when the incident erupted. Hong Kong's fire service determined that alarms in every tower were not working effectively.

The relevant regulatory body has halted for now renovation projects on 30 private projects.

Demands for Probe and Detentions

Separately, authorities are said to have arrested a young man on suspicion of subversion on Saturday. He was among a group petitioning for an autonomous investigation into the fire. An online petition amassed more than 10,000 endorsements in a very short time before its page was taken down.

Two other people, including a ex-local representative, were also detained by police, as reported by local media reports.

Global Response

Amnesty International and Another watchdog have both denounced the alleged detentions.

"The moment has come for the city's officials to transparently investigate the causes of the catastrophic blaze...rather than muzzling those who raise appropriate concerns," Amnesty International said.

Historical Context and Demographics

The residential complex was built in 1983 and had supplied nearly two thousand flats for around 4,600 inhabitants, per a 2021 government census.

Approximately 40 percent of its inhabitants are thought to be older than 65 years of age. Several have lived in the subsidised housing estate since it was built.

The city's second-deadliest fire on in history took 176 people in the mid-20th century and was the result of a blast on the lower level at a multi-story storage facility. The most deadly was at Happy Valley Racecourse in the early 1900s, when more than 600 individuals died.