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The city's chief executive, John Lee, has ordered the creation of an separate inquiry panel to probe the origins of a catastrophic blaze that took a minimum of 151 residents.

A Blaze of Unprecedented Scale

Last Wednesday, most of the apartment buildings at the Wang Fuk Court—which had been undergoing extensive renovations—went up in flames. A probe subsequently revealed that construction site netting used around the buildings fell short of fire safety regulations.

A minimum of 13 people have been detained on suspicion of alleged culpable homicide, comprising the executives of a construction company.

"It is a terrible tragedy, it is a big fire. Reform is necessary. Failures have been detected in multiple areas. Hence we must take decisive action to ensure that all these gaps are addressed," he said.

The Probe and Its Consequences

The inferno—which spread quickly both vertically and across the separate towers—was finally put out by the morning of Friday, around 40 hours after it began, and required in excess of 2,000 firefighters to subdue.

On that day, police began entering the buildings to collect forensic material. The government indicates the probe could require three to four weeks.

Shortcomings Uncovered

Several residents have said they did not hear a smoke detector when the incident broke out. The city's fire department discovered that alarms in each building were operating inadequately.

Hong Kong's buildings department has halted for now works on 30 private projects.

Demands for Probe and Detentions

Separately, officers took into custody a young man on suspicion of subversion on the weekend. He was involved with a collective calling for an separate review into the fire. An digital signature drive amassed more than 10,000 supporters in under 24 hours before its information was removed.

Two other people, comprising a past council member, were also questioned by officers, as reported by press accounts.

International Reaction

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have both criticised the said apprehensions.

"Now is the time for the local government to transparently investigate the causes of the catastrophic blaze...instead of silencing those who ask legitimate questions," Amnesty International said.

Historical Context and Demographics

The residential complex was completed in the early 1980s and had offered close to 2,000 units for some 4,600 occupants, per a recent official survey.

Approximately 40 percent of its inhabitants are estimated to be at least 65 years old. Several have been occupants of the public housing complex from its inception.

The city's second-most fatal incident on record claimed 176 people in 1948 and was triggered by a blast on the lower level at a multi-story storage facility. The deadliest was at a local racetrack in the early 1900s, when in excess of 600 attendees lost their lives.