President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed condolences on social media to people killed in a deadly multi-apartment fire in Hong Kong.
The death toll from the blaze as of press time last night was 65, with more than 200 people missing as firefighting and rescue efforts continued, Hong Kong officials said.
Lai on X offered condolences to the deceased and their families, and voiced concern for the injured and missing, urging everyone to “pray for Hong Kong.”
Photo: Reuters
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) also extended her condolences on Facebook, writing: “May the departed rest in peace and may all suffering families find strength again.”
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong reported that no Taiwanese were known to have been affected, the Mainland Affairs Council said.
Thick smoke continued to pour out of the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po District.
Photo: Bloomberg
Firefighters have been fighting to control the flames since the middle of the afternoon on Wednesday, when the fire started, and then spread across seven of the complex’s eight buildings.
Fires in four buildings had been effectively put out, with the remaining three towers under control, authorities said yesterday, adding that the operation was expected to last until the evening.
One firefighter was among those who died, officials said.
Photo: Reuters
More than 70 people were injured, many with burn and inhalation injuries, Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority said.
Resident Lawrence Lee was waiting for news about his wife, who was still trapped in their apartment.
“When the fire started, I told her on the phone to escape, but once she left the flat, the corridor and stairs were all filled with smoke and it was all dark, so she had no choice but to go back to the flat,” he said as he waited in one of the shelters overnight.
Two directors of a construction company and an engineering consultant were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.
Police had not directly named the company where they work.
“We have reason to believe that those in charge of the construction company were grossly negligent,” said Eileen Chung (鍾麗詒), a senior superintendent of police.
Police also searched the office of Prestige Construction & Engineering Co (宏業建築工程), which Chinese-language media reported was in charge of renovations at the tower complex.
Phones for Prestige Construction & Engineering rang unanswered.
Authorities said some materials on the exterior walls of the high-rise buildings were suspected to not meet fire resistance standards, allowing the unusually fast spread of the fire.
Police also said they found extruded foam — which is highly flammable — attached to the windows on each floor near the elevator lobby of the one unaffected tower.
It was believed to have been installed by the construction company, but the purpose was not clear.
Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang (鄧炳強) said that the use of materials would be investigated further.
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
Taiwan’s economy grew far faster than expected in the first quarter, as booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications drove a surge in exports, spilling over into investment and consumption, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. GDP growth was 13.69 percent year-on-year during the January-to-March period, beating the DGBAS’ February forecast by 2.23 percentage points and marking the most robust growth in nearly four decades, DGBAS senior official Chiang Hsin-yi (江心怡) told a news conference in Taipei. The result was powered by exports, which remain the backbone of Taiwan’s economy, Chiang said. Outbound shipments jumped 51.12 percent year-on-year to
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
RSS