Unsafe construction netting found at Tai Po fire site, 13 arrests for alleged manslaughter – officials
Some construction netting samples taken from the site of the fatal Tai Po blaze have failed to meet fire safety standards, authorities say.
Meanwhile, 13 people have now been arrested for suspected manslaughter [...] Among them were people linked to the main construction contractor, construction consultancy firm, and subcontractors in charge of scaffolding and the exterior walls. Secretary for Security Chris Tang told reporters that police had collected 20 samples of construction netting from Wang Fuk Court, which was undergoing a large-scale renovation project when the blaze broke out. [...]
Seven out of 20 did not pass fire safety tests.
Samples that were easier to reach had a higher rate of passing the fire resistance tests than those that were trickier to obtain, Tang added [...]
“We believe it was the protective nets that did not meet fire resistance standards, and the Styrofoam boards, that caused the fire to spread so rapidly,” Tang said.
Foam boards were used as part of protective materials, which authorities have pointed to as contributing to the fire’s rapid spread. Fire alarms were also faulty, authorities have said.
Woo Ying-ming, the commissioner of the ICAC, said the anti-corruption watchdog arrested 12 people. Among them, 11 were also arrested by police.
Those arrested by the ICAC include construction consultants and scaffolding contractors. [...]