Residents of Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court are wrestling with a fresh sense of loss after returning to their former homes damaged in last November’s fire, as they are forced to choose what to pack and what to leave behind within a limited time frame and under practical constraints. Cecilia* is one such Hongkonger. She considers herself fortunate to have discovered that her upper-floor flat was largely undamaged by the blaze. But now she faces losing family treasures, precious metals and antique...
To Ian Chu, capturing one last image of the sea view from his home before it disappears was a final wish as he returned on Saturday to the scene of the deadly Hong Kong blaze to collect his belongings. Chu lived in Wang Cheong House, one of eight residential blocks at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, where 81 of the 168 deaths occurred in the inferno that shocked the city in November. His flat faces the Tolo Harbour. “Since the renovations I have not seen the ocean, the sunlight … so I just tried to...
Hon Wing, 77, and his family climbed 19 floors to their fire-ravaged flat in Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court housing estate on Tuesday but left almost empty-handed after a two-hour search for valuables. Hon, a retired part-time taxi driver, had hoped to find a bag of change he kept during his work shifts, but “nothing much was there” in his charred flat in Wang Sun House. His daughter Ice Hon wanted to retrieve items passed down from her late mother. “Dust and ruins are everywhere. It feels like the...
Playing one last song on a piano that cannot be retrieved from a fire-ravaged home is among the wishes of residents returning to the scene of the deadly Tai Po blaze, with one man climbing stairs on a fractured leg to try and recover a water boiler linked to his childhood memories. Some of those returning to their homes on Friday had lived in Wang Cheong House, the worst-hit block, where 81 of the 168 deaths in the Tai Po fire occurred. Only five floors of the block – where 63 per cent of flats...
The last batch of residents who briefly returned to their flats in Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court under a special government arrangement said prayers and left flower bouquets as a final farewell to their fire-ravaged homes. The residents, who were among 79 households that registered to visit Wang Sun House on Wednesday morning, arrived at the building with trolleys, backpacks and bags, some armed with stools to aid their arduous climb up at least 20 floors. An elderly woman surnamed Tang, who lived...
Residents have continued searching for memorabilia in their fire-ravaged homes on the second day of pick-up sessions at Wang Fuk Court, with some seeking help from a robotic device and others expressing gratitude to neighbours who saved their lives during the blaze. Wang Sun House residents on the middle floors began returning home on Tuesday, with opinions divided over whether three hours were enough to pack and bid farewell. “I want to take this opportunity to thank my neighbour, who knocked...
Hong Kong fire survivors return to Wang Fuk Court five months after a blaze killed 168 people.
About 270 residents of Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged Wang Fuk Court are returning to their flats on Monday to pack their belongings, nearly five months after the deadly blaze, with authorities deploying more than 1,000 staff to assist them. Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing said 269 residents from 78 households in Wang Sun House would return to their flats in two phases. “If conditions allow, residents can visit their flats more than once,” Cheuk told a press briefing, adding that those...
About 380 households from Hong Kong’s fire-ravaged housing estate in Tai Po have expressed a desire for a second visit to their homes to retrieve belongings, ahead of the first session starting from April 20, an official has said. Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk Wing-hing said on Sunday that dedicated social workers had notified more than 1,730 families from seven of the eight Wang Fuk Court towers about retrieving their items between April 20 and May 4. Authorities expect 98 per cent of...
Thousands of Hongkongers braved thundery and rainy weather on Ching Ming Festival on Sunday to sweep tombs, with some distraught Wang Fuk Court residents returning to the fire-ravaged site to mourn. It was the first Ching Ming Festival for more than 5,000 displaced residents at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court, the site of Hong Kong’s deadliest fire since 1948. The inferno claimed 168 lives after the blaze broke out on November 26 and spread across seven of the estate’s eight towers. During the festival,...