HONG KONG: As firefighters battled floor by floor in Hong Kong’s flaming Wang Fuk Court housing complex overnight to find survivors and reunite them with fearful relatives, another band of volunteers swung into action to rescue the estate’s pets.
Dozens of workers from Hong Kong’s animal welfare agencies turned out with oxygenated pet carriers and animal ambulances to search for pets in the blazing complex, as social media posts depicted elderly people weeping for animals they left behind in the rush to save human lives.
Some animal welfare workers carrying cages negotiated with police to allow them through cordons keeping out the public, as the fire raged in the complex on Thursday.
“Pet owners contacted our alliance and we compiled a list of more than 100 cases,” said Anson Cheng, of the animal welfare group Hong Kong Guardians.
“We shared the cases with firefighters so that they can help check the flats and pick up the pets if they see them.”
Cheng said as of Thursday morning, at least 10 cats, seven dogs and several turtles had been rescued.
The fire, which is still burning, has killed at least 44 people and left nearly 300 missing. Police said on Thursday the blaze may have been spread by
unsafe scaffolding
and foam materials used during maintenance work.
Hong Kong’s system of micro-chipping dogs and cats meant it was possible that some survivors could be reunited with pets that managed to escape the blaze, said Cheng.
Huddling under a blanket in a nearby park, a woman surnamed Law said she had been waiting for her cat overnight and had been searching online platforms for news. She had left 10-year-old Fa when she fled her apartment, expecting to return.
“It was a very small fire when I went down,” she said. “Half an hour later, the fire already went all the way to the top. Nearby areas were also burning, there’s no way to get back in. I feel bad.”
Despite Hong Kong’s often cramped apartment lifestyles, pet ownership is increasingly popular — from dogs and cats to rabbits and hamsters — animal welfare agencies say.
Volunteers seek lost pets amid Hong Kong deadly inferno wreckage
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Volunteers seek lost pets amid Hong Kong deadly inferno wreckage
- As of Thursday morning, at least 10 cats, seven dogs and several turtles had been rescued
Cuba says a 5th person died after people on a Florida-flagged speedboat opened fire on soldiers
- Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops
- The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities
HAVANA: Cuba said a fifth person has died as a consequence of a fatal shootout last month involving a Florida-flagged speedboat that allegedly opened fire on soldiers in waters off the island nation’s north coast.
The island’s interior ministry said late Thursday in a statement that Roberto Álvarez Ávila died on March 4 as a result of his injuries. It added that the remaining injured detainees “continue to receive specialized medical care according to their health status.”
Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops. They said the passengers were armed Cubans living in the US who were trying to infiltrate the island and “unleash terrorism”. Cuba said its soldiers killed four people and wounded six others.
“The statements made by the detainees themselves, together with a series of investigative procedures, reinforce the evidence against them,” the Cuban interior ministry said in its statement, adding that “new elements are being obtained that establish the involvement of other individuals based in the US”
Earlier this week, Cuba said it had filed terrorism charges against six suspects that were on the speedboat. The government unveiled items said to have been found on the boat, including a dozen high-powered weapons, more than 12,800 pieces of ammunition and 11 pistols.
Cuban authorities have provided few details about the shooting, but said the boat was roughly 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) northeast of Cayo Falcones, off the country’s north coast. They also provided the boat’s registration number, but The Associated Press was unable to readily verify the details because boat registrations are not public in the state of Florida.
The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities. The island’s economy was until recently largely kept economically afloat by Venezuela’s oil, which is now in doubt after a US military operation deposed then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
