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The city's chief executive, John Lee, has ordered the creation of an autonomous task force to examine the reasons of a catastrophic blaze that claimed the lives of 151 residents.

A Blaze of Unprecedented Scale

This past Wednesday, seven of eight apartment buildings at the estate—which was subject to major refurbishment—were engulfed by fire. A probe subsequently revealed that safety scaffolding mesh used around the buildings failed to meet requirements for fire resistance.

A minimum of 13 people have been taken into custody over alleged culpable homicide, comprising the directors of a contractor.

"It is a terrible tragedy, it is a big fire. Reform is necessary. Failures have been detected in different stages. This is precisely the reason we must take decisive action to guarantee all these gaps are addressed," he said.

Investigation and Aftermath

The fire—which spread quickly both upwards and from building to building—was finally put out by the morning of Friday, approximately two days after it ignited, and necessitated more than 2,000 emergency responders to subdue.

On that day, authorities started accessing the buildings to secure proof. The government indicates the investigation could last approximately a month.

Systemic Failures Identified

Several residents have reported they did not hear a smoke detector when the incident erupted. The city's fire department found that detection devices in all eight blocks were malfunctioning.

Hong Kong's buildings department has halted for now renovation projects on numerous private sites.

Calls for Inquiry and Arrests

Separately, officers took into custody a young man on charges related to incitement on the weekend. He was part of a gathering demanding an autonomous investigation into the fire. An online petition gathered more than 10,000 supporters in a very short time before its contents were wiped.

A pair of additional persons, comprising a ex-local representative, were also detained by authorities, according to news outlets.

Global Response

The rights group and The monitoring body have both denounced the reported arrests.

"Now is the time for the city's officials to transparently investigate the causes of the tragic incident...instead of muzzling those who raise appropriate concerns," Amnesty International said.

Historical Context and Demographics

The housing estate was constructed in the early 1980s and had supplied 1,984 apartments for some 4,600 inhabitants, per a recent official survey.

Approximately 40 percent of its residents are thought to be over 65 years old. Some have resided in the subsidised housing estate from its inception.

The city's second-most fatal incident on file killed 176 lives in the mid-20th century and was the result of a ground-floor explosion at a multi-story storage facility. The most deadly was at a local racetrack in the early 1900s, when more than 600 individuals died.