Residents of Wang Chi House, the only building on the Wang Fuk Court estate in Tai Po not directly affected by the fatal fire there, will be allowed to return to their homes to collect personal belongings on Wednesday and Thursday, the police announced on Tuesday.
Residents can make the trip to their residences between 9 am and 9 pm over the next two days with valid identification documents, the police said at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
The Home Affairs Department and the Quick Response Unit under the Civil Service Bureau will provide support, ensuring that each resident is accompanied when entering the building, and police officers will be stationed on every floor.
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A free shuttle bus service will be provided to transport residents to and from their temporary residences.
The authorities have completed search operations in six of the eight fire-ravaged buildings in Wang Fuk Court. Five more bodies were found on Tuesday, raising the death toll to 156. Among the recovered bodies, 29 are yet to be identified. Thirty individuals are still missing.
In the preliminary stages of body identification, photographs have been taken at the scene for initial recognition by the family members. Subsequently, arrangements will be made for them to attend Fu Shan Public Mortuary to make formal identifications. For the deceased who remain unidentified, forensic procedures will be conducted.
The police said that 15 people, aged from 40 to 77, have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter so far.
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Members of the public should beware of scams, and make donations to help those affected by the fire through official and reliable channels only, the police said, citing a fraudulent website inducing residents to donate money by pretending to be a social service organization.
Tai Po Baptist Public School will be closed for a period due to the impact of the fire. To ensure that teaching can return to normality soon, the Education Bureau has arranged for students from the school to attend classes at Tai Po Government Primary School and NTWJWA Christian Remembrance of Grace Primary School, starting from mid-December, a spokesperson for the bureau announced on Tuesday.
The bureau has established a working group to implement the arrangements, and allocated HK$5 million ($642,120) to support the operations of the schools during the transition period.
Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com
