Hong Kong mourns those lost to fire as investigators search for remains

Grief was not lonely today in Hong Kong. Three days after the worst fire in the history of modern Hong Kong, it feels as though it has barely sunk in.

The weekend at least lent them time to pay tribute, and gave them some space to reflect.

People came in droves to lay flowers, so many a queuing system was needed.

Official books of condolences were also set up in multiple parts of the city.

It was the first day large teams of investigators were able to enter the site. Dozens of them in hazmat suits were bused in, their work the grimmest of tasks.

Every so often you could see a flashlight peep through the window of an upper blackened window, a reminder that the fire services are still undertaking dangerous work.

But the reach of the authorities is ramping up here.

Yesterday a grass roots aid distribution centre was the vibrant heart of the response.

They received notice at 4am that they needed to pack up and move on. By 10.30am, the mountains of donations were gone, residents watched on, bewildered.

The task apparently will be handed over to professional NGOs.

"I think the government's biggest concern is due to some past incidents," one organiser tells us. "They may liken this to previous events. The essence looks similar."

She's careful with her words, but she's clearly hinting at major pro-democracy protests that were crushed by authorities in 2019.

Any sort of mass gathering is now seen as a risk, the system is still very nervous.

And they might well be because people here are angry.

What, they ask, did the government know? What did it choose to ignore?

Indeed, Sky News has learnt that residents raised their fears over fire safety connected to extensive renovations on Wang Fuk Court as early as September 2024.

They flagged the suspected flammability of green nets being used to cover the building.

An email response from the Labour Department was sent a few months later to Jason Poon, a civil engineer-turned-activist, who was working with residents. It insists that "the mesh's flame retardant properties meet safety standards".

But many clearly didn't believe it. Posts spanning many months on a residents' Facebook group continued to voice their fears.

When a much smaller fire broke out in the city last month, one resident posted: "All the materials outside are flammable, I feel really worried."

"I feel that same way" another replied. "The government has no sense of concern."

For Poon, who dedicates much of his time to fighting lax safety standards in Hong Kong's construction industry, the whole experience has been devastating.

"They knew all the maintenance was using corner-cutting materials, but they didn't do anything," he says.

"This is a man-made disaster."

We put these allegations to Hong Kong's Labour Department but they have not yet responded to our request for comment.

Grief may still be the prominent force here, but anger is not that far behind.

(c) Sky News 2025: Hong Kong mourns those lost to fire as investigators search for remains