The independent committee tasked with unraveling the circumstances behind Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades will hold eight open hearings from March 19 to April 2 at the City Gallery in Central, the panel has announced.

Members of the public will have a 72-hour window to book their spot for the sessions they wish to attend, with registration opening online from Thursday, 10:00 am, until 10:00 am on March 8.

Formed in December following the Nov 26 tragic blaze at Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court residential complex that claimed 168 lives, the committee was tasked with probing the fire’s cause and related systemic failure, and with proposing measures to prevent a recurrence of such a tragedy.

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Eight sessions will convene on March 19, 20, 24, 26, 30, 31, April 1 and 2, from 10 am to 1 pm and again from 2:15 pm to 4:30 pm.

To expand public access, authorities will broadcast the hearings simultaneously in the transmission areas at City Gallery’s ground floor and the Lecture Theatre of Hong Kong Central Library in Causeway Bay.

The inquiry — with barrister Victor Dawes as lead counsel — will hear evidence from witnesses through oral testimony, written statements, and other submissions to reconstruct a fact-based account of the fire, said the panel, which would lay the essential groundwork for the committee’s final report and its proposed preventive measures.

The panel’s chair, David Lok Kai-hong, earlier said the committee aims to wrap up its investigation within nine months before submitting its report.

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Successful registrants will receive a confirmation notice from the committee secretariat via phone or email on or before March 17.

Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com