More than 90 pets have been found in the burned-out buildings of the Hong Kong apartment complex, the South China Morning Post reported. Rescue teams have found three cats and a turtle alive nearly four days after the fire started.
As the newspaper reports, rescuers have thoroughly searched two of the extinguished high-rise buildings. No human remains were found in them, but there were pets.
The cats and the turtle were handed over to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. There is still no information about their health, except that they are alive.
Animal rights activists reported earlier that there may have been 243 pets in the burned-out complex; 92 animals have already been found. Their current condition has not yet been released. The remaining pets are considered missing.
Residents of the eighth high-rise building, which was largely undamaged by the fire, requested permission to enter their apartments to retrieve their cats, dogs and other pets. When the fire broke out, all residents were ordered to evacuate the building immediately, and not all took their pets with them. All approaches to the building were then blocked off, and rescuers focused their efforts on the remaining seven damaged buildings. The Animal Welfare Agency said it was coordinating with the fire department and police to find a safe way to help the animals.
At least 128 people have died in the fire in the metropolis. The fire started on Wednesday in the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex, consisting of eight high-rise buildings in the Tai Po district. One building is largely undamaged, while seven were engulfed in flames. The fire spread through bamboo scaffolding erected on the buildings for cosmetic repairs. The complex contains nearly 2,000 apartments and is home to approximately 4,000 residents.
This fire is the deadliest residential building fire in the city's history. The previous deadliest residential fire there was at the Gurley Building in 1996, which killed 41 people and injured 81. Hong Kong has seen more tragic fires. The deadliest in the city's history occurred on February 27, 1918, at the Happy Valley Racecourse. More than 600 people died after a temporary grandstand collapsed and a fire broke out. Another fire, which broke out on De Vaux Street in 1948, when a shipment of celluloid film caught fire in a warehouse and spread to residential premises, killed 176 people and injured 69.