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The city's chief executive, John Lee, has mandated the establishment of an independent committee to investigate the cause of a tragic inferno that took a minimum of 151 residents.

A Blaze of Unprecedented Scale

On Wednesday last week, most of the apartment buildings at the housing complex—which was subject to significant upgrades—were engulfed by fire. Investigators have since found that construction site netting used around the buildings did not comply with fire safety regulations.

No fewer than 13 suspects have been detained on suspicion of alleged culpable homicide, comprising the senior figures of a contractor.

"It is a terrible tragedy, it is a big fire. Yes, we need reform. Yes, we have identified failures in multiple areas. This is precisely the reason we must take decisive action to ensure that all these loopholes are plucked," he said.

The Probe and Its Consequences

The blaze—that propagated rapidly both upwards and from building to building—was only fully doused by the morning of Friday, approximately two days after it started, and required more than 2,000 fire service personnel to bring under control.

The same day, authorities started accessing the buildings to collect forensic material. The government indicates the investigation could last three to four weeks.

Systemic Failures Identified

Several residents have reported they failed to hear a fire alarm when the fire broke out. Hong Kong's fire service determined that alarms in all eight blocks were malfunctioning.

Hong Kong's buildings department has temporarily suspended works on three dozen private developments.

Demands for Probe and Detentions

Separately, officers took into custody a 24-year-old man on suspicion of incitement on the weekend. He was part of a group demanding an independent inquiry into the blaze. An online petition gathered in excess of 10,000 endorsements in less than a day before its contents were wiped.

A pair of additional persons, comprising a former district councillor, were also taken in by officers, as reported by press accounts.

International Reaction

The rights group and Another watchdog have both condemned the reported arrests.

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

Background and Resident Profile

The residential complex was constructed in the early 1980s and had provided close to 2,000 units for some 4,600 inhabitants, based on a recent official survey.

Approximately 40 percent of its residents are thought to be older than 65 years of age. Some have resided in the public housing complex since it was built.

Hong Kong's second-deadliest fire on file took 176 people in 1948 and was triggered by a ground-floor explosion at a multi-story storage facility. The most deadly was at a local racetrack in 1918, when more than 600 attendees perished.