HONG KONG: The death toll of Hong Kong’s high-rise apartment blaze rose to 159 on Wednesday, as authorities arrested six people on suspicion of deactivating some fire alarms during maintenance work at the housing complex.
The youngest person who died in the fire was a 1-year-old infant, police said. The oldest was 97.
Police said they have completed a search for bodies inside all seven of eight high-rise residential towers ravaged in the fire that first broke out last Wednesday and took until Friday to be extinguished. About 30 people were still reported missing.
“We have not finished our work yet,” Commissioner of Police Joe Chow told reporters, adding that officials found suspected human bones in different apartments and will attempt DNA testing on the remains to identify them.
Officials will also continue to search through piles of fallen bamboo scaffolding to check if any remains or bodies were buried there, he said.
The deadly blaze broke out at Wang Fuk Court, in the northern suburban district of Tai Po, which was undergoing a monthslong renovation project with buildings covered by bamboo scaffolding and green netting.
Police and the city’s anti-corruption body said Tuesday that they had arrested 15 people as authorities probe corruption and negligence in relation to the renovation work. Substandard plastic nylon netting covering scaffoldings erected outside the towers and foam boards installed on windows were found to have aided the fire’s rapid spread, authorities said earlier this week.
Chris Tang, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security, said police are investigating the Binzhou Inspection and Testing Center in China, which provided the safety inspection certificate for the construction netting.
Meanwhile, officials said the city will remove all external scaffolding nets from ongoing renovations. The materials will need to be tested before they are allowed to be installed again.
In addition to the scaffolding issue, residents and officials have said that some fire alarms in the buildings failed to sound when the fire broke out, though it was not clear how widespread that problem was within the complex.
Police said Wednesday that six people who allegedly deactivated some fire alarms at the housing complex during the renovation works were arrested on suspicion of making false representation to the fire services department.
The initial cause of the fire was still under investigation.
Nineteen bodies among the 159 were still unidentified, police said. Ten migrants who worked as domestic helpers at the housing complex, including nine from Indonesia and one from the Philippines, as well as one firefighter, were among those killed in the fire.
A 1-year-old was among 159 killed in Hong Kong apartment fires; 30 others remain missing
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A 1-year-old was among 159 killed in Hong Kong apartment fires; 30 others remain missing
- The youngest person who died in the fire was a 1-year-old infant, police said. The oldest was 97
- Police said they have completed a search for bodies inside all seven of eight high-rise residential towers
Trump accepts Nobel medal from Venezuelan opposition leader Machado
- Trump wrote: “Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect“
- Machado said the gift was in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people
WASHINGTON: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump on Thursday during a White House meeting, in a bid to influence his efforts to shape her country’s political future.
A White House official confirmed that Trump intends to keep the medal.
In a social media post on Thursday evening, Trump wrote: “Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you Maria!“
Machado, who described the meeting as “excellent,” said the gift was in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people.
The White House later posted a photo of Trump and Machado with the president holding up a large, gold-colored frame displaying the medal. Accompanying text read, “To President Donald J. Trump In Gratitude for Your Extraordinary Leadership in Promoting Peace through Strength,” and labeled the gesture as a “Personal Symbol of Gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan People.”
Machado’s attempt to sway Trump came after he dismissed the idea of installing her as Venezuela’s leader to replace the deposed Nicolas Maduro.
Trump openly campaigned for the prize before Machado was awarded it last month and complained bitterly when he was snubbed.
Though Machado gave Trump the gold medal that honorees receive with the prize, the honor remains hers; the Norwegian Nobel Institute has said the prize cannot be transferred, shared or revoked.
Asked on Wednesday if he wanted Machado to give him the prize, Trump told Reuters: “No, I didn’t say that. She won the Nobel Peace Prize.”
The Republican president has long expressed interest in winning the prize and has at times linked it to diplomatic achievements.
The lunch meeting, which appeared to last slightly over an hour, marked the first time the two have met in person.
Machado then met with more than a dozen senators, both Republican and Democratic, on Capitol Hill, where she has generally found more enthusiastic allies.
During the visit, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had looked forward to meeting Machado, but stood by his “realistic” assessment that she did not currently have the support needed to lead the country in the short term.
Machado, who fled the South American nation in a daring seaborne escape in December, is competing for Trump’s ear with members of Venezuela’s government and seeking to ensure she has a role in governing the nation going forward. After the United States captured Maduro in a snatch-and-grab operation this month, opposition figures, members of Venezuela’s diaspora and politicians throughout the US and Latin America expressed hope for Venezuela to begin a process of democratization.
HOPES OF A MOVE TO DEMOCRACY
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, one of the senators who met with Machado, said the opposition leader had told senators that repression in Venezuela was no different now than under Maduro.
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez is a “smooth operator” who was growing more entrenched by the day thanks to Trump’s support, he said.
“I hope elections happen, but I’m skeptical,” said Murphy, of Connecticut.
Trump has said he is focused on securing US access to the country’s oil and economically rebuilding Venezuela. Trump has on several occasions praised Rodriguez, Maduro’s second-in-command, who became Venezuela’s leader upon his capture. In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Trump said, “She’s been very good to deal with.”
Machado was banned from running in Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election by a top court stacked with Maduro allies.
Outside observers widely believe Edmundo Gonzalez, an opposition figure backed by Machado, won by a substantial margin, but Maduro claimed victory and retained power. While the current government has freed dozens of political prisoners in recent days, outside groups and advocates have said the scale of the releases has been exaggerated by Caracas. In an annual address to lawmakers, Rodriguez called for diplomacy with the United States and said should she need to travel to Washington, she would do so “walking on her feet, not dragged there.”
She also said she would propose reforms to her country’s oil industry aimed at increasing access for foreign investors.
