Government announces updates on Task Forces' follow-up work on Tai Po fire (with photos)
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Financial and welfare support
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For the Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po established by the Government, as of 1pm yesterday, the donations received have reached $1.3 billion. In addition to the start-up capital of $300 million from the Government, the fund's total has reached around $1.6 billion. The fund will be used to assist the residents in rebuilding their homes and providing long-term and sustained support. The Government earlier announced that the Support Fund will provide the families of each deceased victim with a token of solidarity of $200,000 and $50,000 to cover funeral costs. The first batch of 18 cases was processed yesterday, and disbursement is underway. In addition, the Government also announced that the Support Fund will provide a living allowance of $50,000 to each affected household. The first batch of 20 cases for the living allowance of $50,000 was processed yesterday, and disbursement is also underway.
The Government has been offering an emergency subsidy of $10,000 per affected household since the evening of November 27. As of 4pm yesterday, the Government has registered more than 1 900 households for the subsidy, with disbursement made to 1 861 households.
In addition, the Government will provide four special subsidies, namely the injury grant, the student grant, the subsidy for workers and the subsidy for foreign domestic helpers. The amount of the injury grant ranges from $50,000 to $100,000, while that of the student grant, the subsidy for workers and the subsidy for foreign domestic helpers is at $20,000.
As of yesterday morning, social workers of the Social Welfare Department (SWD) have been in contact with about 1 450 affected households, and more than 3 300 affected residents have been registered for the "one social worker per household" support service. The SWD will maintain liaison with the affected households for provision of all necessary assistance while fully back the support and relief work of the Government. Those not yet in touch with the SWD are advised to leave their contact information by calling 182 183 as soon as possible.
Accommodation support
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As of yesterday morning, 945 residents have been accommodated, through the co-ordination of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, in youth hostels/camps or hotel rooms. Another 1 470 residents have moved into transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or units of the Hong Kong Housing Society. Furthermore, two shelters remain open for residents in need.
The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, went to CONCORDIA Sheung Yue River, a transitional housing project in Yuen Long, yesterday afternoon to visit and comfort victims affected by the fire. CONCORDIA Sheung Yue River has accommodated approximately 60 families, totalling over 100 fire victims. Mr Lee emphasised that the Government attaches high importance to the well-being of affected residents, focusing not only on immediate relief aid but also their various long-term living needs.
During the visit, Mr Lee inquired about the residents' living conditions. Some victims stated that the $10,000 emergency cash subsidy quickly distributed by the Government after the fire, along with essential supplies such as bedding and household appliances co-ordinated by welfare organisations, have provided immediate relief and substantial support during their difficult time.
Mr Lee also inspected the temporary supplies centre, converted from an activity room which keeps daily necessities donated by various sectors. He warmly praised the staff and social workers from the welfare organisation responsible for the operation, as well as the neighbourhood residents of CONCORDIA Sheung Yue River who voluntarily assisted the newly relocated victims. He noted their swift mobilisation at critical time to provide victims with comprehensive assistance, ranging from daily essentials to emotional support.
Mr Lee said he is deeply moved by the selfless commitment of the welfare organisation personnel and CONCORDIA Sheung Yue River neighbourhood residents, believing they embody the spirit of mutual help and solidarity of the Hong Kong society.
Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, also visited residents affected by the fire at Pok Oi Kong Ha Wai Village, a transitional housing project at Kam Sheung Road in Yuen Long, yesterday afternoon to express sympathy and care for them, and to understand their living conditions and actual needs.
Relief supplies and donations
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The supplies donation online platform (www.taipodonation.hk) established by the Government and the information technology sector began operation on November 30 to facilitate registration of supplies donations from organisations and members of the public. Together with the information provided by members of the public via WhatsApp earlier, the Government has so far received over 470 registrations with different kinds of donation items including food and beverages, clothing, daily necessities, beddings and electrical appliances. The Government will consolidate information of all donation items and distribute supplies to residents in need as necessary.
Medical services
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To more comprehensively support the medical needs of the injured and residents affected by the fire, the Health Bureau made the following arrangements: (1) all injured individuals admitted to public hospitals under the Hospital Authority (HA) will receive full fee waivers for all necessary healthcare services (including drugs and medical devices) throughout the entire process of their treatment and rehabilitation; (2) all residents (including foreign domestic helpers) of the eight blocks at Wang Fuk Court will be eligible for full medical fee waivers until December 31, 2026, covering various HA services; and (3) the Department of Health (DH) will also put in place similar fee waiver arrangements.
Replacements of identity documents
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As at 4pm yesterday, the Immigration Department processed about 1 090 personal document replacement applications from the affected residents. Additionally, a total of 16 applications was processed for extension of stay and provision of services related to lost visa records from affected persons.
Transport services
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Starting from yesterday, five taxi fleets will arrange some taxis to provide free special services for residents in need, mainly to and from various locations in Tai Po district. Details are provided under the dedicated website "Support Services for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po" set up by the Government (www.taipofire.gov.hk).
Handling of reported missing persons
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The Police have completed searches at five buildings and deployed again more than 600 officers from the Disaster Victim Identification Unit to conduct searches at structurally-safe locations in the remaining two most affected buildings yesterday. As of 4pm yesterday, the Police handled eight sets of human remains in the buildings, including five sets of newly found and three sets found by firefighters but yet to be removed. The number of the deceased has been updated to 151. The Police will continue to follow up on the reported missing persons, aiming to confirm their status and the number of casualties as soon as possible.
The forensic pathologists from the DH continued to assist personnel from the Disaster Victim Identification Unit on site in collecting evidence, making every effort to help identify the deceased. As of 4pm yesterday, the next of kin of 90 victims have completed necessary procedures at the Fu Shan Public Mortuary.
Investigations
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In addition to the three personnel from a construction company who were arrested earlier, the Police have arrested another 10 individuals from various construction and engineering consultancy companies on suspicion of manslaughter. The Police have accorded top priority to the case and are gathering evidence through various channels for a thorough and in-depth investigation. The possibility of further arrests is not ruled out.
Regulation and inspection work
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The Independent Checking Unit (ICU) of the Housing Bureau, together with more than 100 professionals from the Housing Department, completed on November 29 and 30 the inspections of more than 1 700 units in seven buildings, including Wang Yan House, Wang Tao House, Wang Kin House, Wang Tai House, Wang Shing House, Wang Chi House and Wang Sun House as well as a few floors of Wang Cheong House. The professionals yesterday have also completed the inspection of the remaining units in Wang Cheong House.
According to the assessment of the professionals, the structure of some units may be subject to more serious damage, but there is no imminent danger in terms of the overall structural safety in all of the buildings inspected. With the full assistance of the officers from the Fire Services Department (FSD), the emergency maintenance contractors of the Housing Bureau have completed the relevant support works so that officers of the Police Force and the FSD can immediately enter the units for evidence collection and other operations. The ICU will conduct concrete core tests as soon as possible so that more detailed assessments on the conditions of the buildings can be made.
The ICU has conducted on-site sampling at Wang Fuk Court and four other Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) courts that have been issued notices under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme, including Sui Wo Court in Sha Tin, Ching Lai Court in Sham Shui Po, Yee Kok Court in Sham Shui Po, and On Kay Court in Kwun Tong. Samples collected from different positions of the protective nets had been sent to the Government Laboratory for testing. The ICU will further arrange visits to these HOS courts to collect samples on site for Government Laboratory tests. Should any non-compliant elements be detected, the ICU will immediately request removal of the protective nets and refer the case to law enforcement agencies for prosecutions of the relevant maintenance contractors.
The Buildings Department (BD) continued its special inspection operation. As of yesterday, the BD has inspected 359 buildings undergoing external wall maintenance. Among them, about 300 buildings were confirmed to have installed with scaffold nets, and samples have been taken. Test results are expected to be ready in batches within this week. Apart from the two buildings where plastic sheeting was found blocking the windows as announced earlier (being removed successively at the Government's instructions), no other buildings were found using foam boards or plastic sheeting to block windows.
The Labour Department (LD) launched a territory-wide special enforcement operation since November 28, targeting the fire protection facilities and fire emergency preparedness of building maintenance work sites with large-scale scaffolding erected. This includes checking if protective screens (also known as scaffold nets) on scaffolds are in compliance with recognised standards for fire-retardant materials to safeguard occupational safety of workers. As of 4pm yesterday, the LD has inspected 61 construction sites, issued a total of 53 written warnings and 13 improvement notices, and has taken out two prosecutions.
Ends/Tuesday, December 2, 2025
Issued at HKT 1:38
Issued at HKT 1:38
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