HONG KONG (OSV News) – The Diocese of Hong Kong is calling for prayer and mourning after a devastating fire at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Tai Po left at least 128 people dead and around 200 still missing. As a sign of solidarity, the diocese turned its website black and white and shared a prayer for residents affected by the Nov. 26 blaze, urging the faithful to remember that “we are one family.”
“We pray for one another, for we are one family with our brothers and sisters,” the diocese said Nov. 26.
The diocese encouraged people to pray for those “who are suffering from the fire.”
“We earnestly ask for Your mercy and compassion on all the deceased, granting them rest,” the diocese asked God in a prayer proposed to all parishes.
“We ask You to heal all the injured, so that they may find comfort in their suffering” and “to comfort all the victims, so that they may recover from their grief and rise again.”
The diocese said: “We are so weak and powerless in the face of disaster,” asking the Lord to “personally soothe our wounded hearts, wipe away our tears, and stay with us in the darkness as we await your rescue.”
The fire broke at around 3 p.m. local time on Nov. 26 at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex – home to around 4,600 residents. The firefighters finally brought the blaze under control 42 hours after it ignited.
Hong Kong’s secretary for security, Chris Tang, said during a press conference Nov. 28 that the death toll could rise further given the situation of those missing is unknown, CNN reported.
Experts told the BBC that bamboo scaffolding, along with other construction materials found at the buildings – which were undergoing renovation – might have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire.
According to The Associated Press, first responders found that some fire alarms in the complex did not sound when tested, said Andy Yeung, the director of Hong Kong Fire Services, though he did not say how many were not working or if others were.
AP added that authorities arrested seven men and one woman Nov. 28, including scaffolding subcontractors, directors of an engineering consultant company and project managers supervising the renovation, the Independent Commission Against Corruption said in a statement.
