Thousands of residents displaced by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades are returning to their damaged apartment buildings this week to assess the devastation and retrieve what belongings remain. The blaze, which occurred in November and claimed 168 lives, left seven of eight buildings in a Tai Po complex gutted, forcing victims into temporary housing.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that the process of returning to the affected homes began on Monday and is expected to continue into early May. Residents are returning to a landscape of destruction, with many facing the heartbreaking reality that cherished items and irreplaceable memories may be lost forever.
For many, including 78-year-old Keung Mak, the return marks a painful step toward closure. Mak, who lived in his apartment for over 40 years with his wife, Kit Chan, 74, anticipated seeing the extent of the damage. Photos shared by his social worker had already revealed a severely burned interior, with exposed steel rebar and floors littered with debris. Mak expressed deep disappointment, stating, “I didn’t expect the first floor would be burned like this.” The couple hopes to salvage items like a fishing rod, wedding photos, and letters, though they anticipate most will be destroyed.
The return is particularly challenging for the elderly residents, who comprised over a third of the 4,600 individuals living in the complex before the fire. With elevators out of service due to the damage, some older residents have reportedly been undertaking fitness training to prepare for climbing the stairs in the up to 31-story buildings. According to public broadcaster Radio Television Hong Kong, over 1,400 registered returnees are aged 65 or older.
Access to the damaged apartments is strictly limited. Residents are typically allowed a maximum of three hours to enter, with up to four people permitted. However, in severely compromised units, access is restricted to a single person. Mak will be accompanied by his son, while his wife hopes to be allowed a brief viewing.
The emotional toll of the tragedy continues to weigh on survivors. Cyrus Ng, 39, who lived in the complex for over a decade, spoke of initial sleepless nights filled with anger, sadness, and worry for his elderly parents. While he has emotionally stabilized, he admits to not fully accepting the event and hopes for the truth behind the fire. A lawyer involved in the ongoing inquiry into the fire’s cause has indicated that human error led to the failure of almost all fire safety appliances in the affected blocks.
Ng holds mixed feelings about returning to his family’s apartment, which sustained less severe damage. He is concerned about the emotional impact on his parents but also looks forward to retrieving important documents, photographs, and clothing. He also noted concerns about potential theft, with police having arrested three men in March on suspicion of pilfering from the estate.
Discussions surrounding the future of the damaged buildings have revealed differing perspectives. Government officials have stated that cost-effective repairs would be difficult, leaning towards demolition and proposing to buy back homeownership rights from the victims. This stance, based on a residents’ survey, has dashed hopes for rebuilding on the site for some. However, data from the fire inquiry suggests that only about half of the 1,700 apartments across the seven buildings suffered varying degrees of damage, leading some residents to question the necessity of complete demolition.
Ng pondered the possibility of repairing some buildings to allow residents to return, though his parents are considering the government’s resettlement offer of an apartment elsewhere. He plans to document his apartment’s condition with photographs to support potential claims. Meanwhile, residents of the one building that escaped the fire are grappling with the trauma of their proximity to the tragedy. Stephanie Leung, a resident of this unharmed block, expressed reluctance to continue living there, citing the constant mental stress of seeing the buildings where friends and former classmates perished. She hopes her building will be included in the government’s plan, allowing those who wish to remain to do so.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
