Death toll from Hong Kong fire rises to 168 after more remains identified
Security chief Chris Tang updates death toll from Tai Po inferno, saying remains of all victims have now been identified
The death toll of Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades has risen to 168 from 161 after the remains of more victims were identified, with the city’s security chief reporting seven weeks after the tragedy that the figure was “final”.
Authorities on Thursday also released demographic information on the deceased in the Tai Po blaze. The inferno that swept through the Wang Fuk Court housing estate on November 26 last year claimed 58 male and 110 female victims, aged from six months to 98 years. Four were certified dead in hospital and 164 were found at Wang Fuk Court.
Among the 168 were two interior decorators, five construction workers, 10 domestic helpers – nine from Indonesia and one from the Philippines – and firefighter Ho Wai-ho, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said.
Tang, who had arrived back in Hong Kong after a duty visit to Beijing, said that the death toll had risen to 168 – seven more than the figure reported a month ago – following more dental examinations and DNA testing of remains.
“We have notified the families of all 168 victims, and they have since confirmed the identities of the deceased,” Tang said at Hong Kong airport.
“All bodies and remains have now been identified, leaving no unidentified remains. We also have clarified the status of every individual previously reported as missing or unreachable. Consequently, the figure of 168 fatalities is final.”