‘Money at expense of people’s lives': Unsafe nets found in Hong Kong fire probe as official blames contractors

The blaze, which started Wednesday from the lower-level netting being used to cover a bamboo scaffolding around one building, took until Friday to extinguish.

The probe into the deadly fire that killed at least 151 in an apartment complex in Hong Kong found unsafe netting being used for covering the scaffolding used in renovations.

Initial tests of the netting had shown that they were up to fire-safety norms. (AFP)

Officials said the nets being used during renovations at the high-rise Wang Fuk Court complex were not in accordance with fire-safety codes, the Associated Press reported.

The blaze, which started on Wednesday from the lower-level netting being used to cover a bamboo scaffolding around one building, took until Friday to extinguish.

After the blaze broke out, the flames spread inside the apartments as foam panels which were placed over windows caught fire and blew out the glass, AP reported. Owing to the winds, the flames spread to multiple buildings in the complex which were covered with scaffolding and netting, until seven of the eight apartments were set ablaze.

Initial tests of the netting showed that they were up to fire-safety norms. However, investigators later collected 20 samples from all areas, including higher floors, and found that seven of those failed safety standards.

Eric Chan, Hong Kong’s Chief Secretary, said that this suggested that contractors skimped to make greater profits, according to the AP report. “They just wanted to make money at the expense of people’s lives,” Chan said.

Hong Kong's Labour Department had earlier said that residents had complained about the construction netting for almost a year. The department said that officials had undertaken 16 inspections of the renovating project since July 2024, and had warned contractors multiple times, in writing, that they would have to meet fire safety norms.

The latest inspection had been conducted just a week before the fire.

With the fire now extinguished, the Hong Kong police Disaster Victim Identification Unit has searched through five of the seven burned buildings. However, they were able to make only partial progress for the other two, AP quoted Tsang Shuk-yin, head of the police casualty enquiry unit, as saying.

The teams recovered another eight bodies on Monday, including the three that firefighters had found but could not retrieve earlier. “We will have to wait until we get through all seven blocks before we can make a final report,” Tsang said.