How the Hong Kong fire started: "Shouldn't happen"
Updated 18.38 | Published 18.31
Several high-rise buildings in Hong Kong are on fire.
The cause makes fire expert Stephen Mackenzie furious.
- It shouldn't happen, not after Grenfell, he says.
At least 36 people have died after the giant fire that broke out in Hongkong on Wednesday morning, Swedish time.
Flames are still shooting out of the windows.
City council member Mui Sui-fung says they are being called by relatives who can't get hold of their family members.
At least 279 people are missing.
– Many people have sent us WhatsApp messages or called us and said they still have relatives inside or that they can't find them, Mui Sui-fung tells the BBC.
Under renovation
The fire started in a 31-story building, but quickly spread to nearby buildings.
At least 4,600 people are said to live in the buildings that are now under renovation.
According to Reuters, the fact that the fire spread so quickly between the buildings is due to the fact that they were surrounded by bamboo scaffolding. A method that is still common in Asian countries as cheap bamboo can be obtained locally.
But it has also been criticized because of the fire risk.
"Shouldn't happen"
Fire expert Stephen McKenzie calls it "gross negligence".
– Unfortunately, bamboo is widely used for external scaffolding in Asia. Even if the material has a certain degree of flame retardant, it doesn't really matter once a full-blown fire has formed, because ultimately it is combustible, he told CNN.
He said the Hong Kong fire could be worse than the Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017, which killed 72 people.
"We simply shouldn't be seeing this. After Grenfell, after the extensive public inquiry, we shouldn't be seeing fire spreading from house to house to house. It shouldn't be allowed to happen."
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