This timelapse of skyscrapers burning is one of the most haunting videos I've seen recently, and I see a lot of horrible stuff in the news.
The fire in this group of high-rises, called Wang Fuk Court, started earlier this week when construction netting around the towers caught on fire.
The towers were built in 1983 and housed 4,600 people, about a third of them over the age of 65. Renovations were underway on the exterior of the buildings, but residents had complained that the netting, styrofoam around the windows, and bamboo scaffolding was a fire risk.
This video shows the very beginning of the blaze:
The fire spread from once building to the next, eventually consuming the entire complex. The heat then shattered windows, allowing the fire to move indoors.
NBC reports that the government has charged several people at the firm hired to complete the renovations.
Within hours, Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption said in a statement that it had set up a 'task force to launch a full investigation into possible corruption' and eight people had been arrested including 'consultants, scaffolding subcontractors and middleman.'
It came after police searched the offices of Prestige Construction and Engineering Co., the registered contractor hired to carry out the renovations on Thursday. Officers also arrested two directors and an engineering consultant on suspicion of manslaughter.
Unfortunately, Hong Kong is now ruled by the Chinese Communist Party, so a task force to uncover corruption is unlikely to actually root out corruption.
Among the dead, 89 are burned beyond recognition. 200 people (or more) are still missing.
Adding to the mix of corruption and disregard for safety is the fact that NONE of the building's smoke alarms sounded when the fires broke out.
Additionally, the fire alarms in all eight blocks didn't sound off when the blaze broke out, Andy Yeung, the director of Hong Kong's Fire Services, told reporters.
Among the dead was firefighter Ho Wai-ho, who died fighting the blaze.
International support has poured in to Hong Kong, from the pope to Apple's CEO.
Residents of Hong Kong have also mobilized to help rehouse tower residents who survived, and a flood of donations have been received.
NBC again:
Across the street from the estate, volunteers set up a makeshift relief point, where people brought bottled water, bread and face masks in bags and carts.
'It's really amazing — so many people from all walks of life have brought in a lot of stuff voluntarily,' volunteer Fion Ho said in an interview. 'There's even so much that we've had to stop accepting more.'
The fires were (mostly) extinguished by Friday morning, though the air still smells like "burned plastic."
The fire is Hong Kong's most deadly since a 1948 warehouse blaze killed 176 people.
P.S. Now check out our latest video 👇
