San Francisco Frontiers - 'Dad, there's a fire': survivors recount deadly Hong Kong blaze

Police at a community centre shared photos of the dead for families and friends to identify victims.

Survivors and relatives at the centre recounted their experiences to AFP on Thursday:

- Wong Sik-kam -

Wong Sik-kam said his son, a firefighter, was battling the fire that destroyed his home of 40 years.

The blaze started in mesh-covered bamboo scaffolding and jumped from block to block, carried by the wind.

"The fire started from the sixth block. Then it spread to the fifth and the fourth block and so on," Wong said.

"Because the third block is attached to the first and second, when the third block caught fire, there was no way the other two could escape."

Only the eighth block was spared.

"They are considered lucky," said Wong, whose apartment in the third block was destroyed.

Firefighters were already at the scene when his son warned him to flee.

"My son was out and he called to tell me, 'Dad, there's a fire'. I opened the window and I saw the firemen who were rescuing the fourth, fifth blocks," he said.

"I thought it was just like a normal fire... it's just a bit of a commotion and it'd be put out," he said.

"But it turned out to be that big that the whole estate went up in flames."

The sight of firefighters rescuing people from other blocks made him realise the true scale.

"I went to every unit and banged on their doors, (shouting) 'Fire! Fire! Let's get out! Let's get out!'"

"We took the stairs, not the lift of course. This is just common sense. When we got down, we saw that there were already many who gathered (outside)."

A shuttle bus was transporting residents to a nearby shelter while police cleared the area.

"If (we were) too near, we were afraid it's dangerous. We were afraid that the scaffolding would fall on us."

Wong said his son was going to units on the higher floors, where "maybe there are over 100 people who died".

"Those who are elderly, those who didn't run away, they have suffocated to death because it's too hot. The heat killed them," Wong said.

"He told me they will be bringing the bodies down, maybe there are over 100... we don't know yet.

"I told him to be careful because it's been burning overnight, not sure if the structure would collapse," he said.

Wong spent the night at a community centre.

"I couldn't sleep properly. The lights were all turned on, it was glaring. I only managed about two to three hours' sleep all night," he said.

"I feel really unhappy," he said, crying.

- Kwong Pui-lun -

Resident Kwong Pui-lun said he has lived in the estate for 41 years and would go downstairs for a stroll every day at around 2 pm.

"As soon as I stepped outside, I saw the smoke," Kwong said.

He rushed home immediately, banging on doors to warn his neighbours.

"I told them to take the stairs. We went down together, so they were not afraid," he said.

They had to leave most of their possessions behind.

"Luckily, I got my wallet and my bag. I live with my wife, so we left together," he said.

Outside, fire services and ambulances had not yet arrived.

"They weren't that fast. We were faster than them," Kwong said.

"We crossed the street to the community centre, then the rescue vehicles started arriving in a hurry."

"Some (people) were really scared," he said. "I helped to push some wheelchairs. Some people, you know, they have mobility issues, I helped them too."

He said the centre was getting chaotic within two or three hours.

"Maybe they didn't know what to do during the disaster. Maybe it's their first time, I suppose," Kwong said.

Social workers at the centre handed out medicines collected from hospitals to older residents.

"The social workers here are doing a really good job," Kwong said.

"They also woke them up to remind them to take their medication".

"I still feel uneasy," he told AFP in the morning after hardly sleeping.

"I went back to have another look -- it was still smouldering. Why is it still burning? There were only a few streams of water.

"This can't be right."

He said "quite a number" of his friends are missing.

"We have informed the police... We hope those who are missing can let us know that they are safe," he said.

Friends and relatives offered their homes so that Kwong and his wife would not have to sleep at the community centre.

"They have been very caring towards us," a tearful Kwong said. "They said 'come stay at my house'."

- Cheung -

Cheung, who only gave her surname, said her sister and brother-in-law are missing.

She said she saw the photos of bodies put up by police at the community centre in the hope of identifying victims.

"If the faces are unrecognisable, there are personal items for people to identify," Cheung said.

"We could see the faces in the photos. The photos are categorised based on the gender of the bodies. Most photos are clear, some had dark colours.

"I cannot find my family members in the photos," she said, adding she would return if more photos were put up.

"I cannot describe my feelings. There were children... I cannot describe it," she said, her voice cracking.

Cheung said she tried ringing her relatives but the line went to voicemail.

"It was because they live in the first building that caught fire," said Cheung, whose sister's apartment was on the 23rd floor.

D.Brown--SFF