Substandard netting used on Hong Kong blaze buildings; death toll at 151

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Substandard protective nets with defective fire retardant properties have been found at the residential estate where Hong Kong’s deadliest inferno in seven decades took place last week, authorities have said, while revealing the death toll has risen to 151.

Officials said on Monday that seven out of the 20 protective net samples taken from Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po had failed fire retardant standards.

The eight blocks of the estate had been under renovation since July last year and were covered by scaffolding and green mesh.

Preliminary investigations found that following typhoon damage in July, some of the nets outside the scaffolding were replaced with cheaper, non-fire resistant material.

Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said the suspects employed “cunning methods” and used a mix of nets that were fire-resistant and some that were not.