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Hong Kong's leader, John Lee, has mandated the establishment of an autonomous task force to examine the reasons of a tragic inferno that took a minimum of 151 people.

A Fire of Historic Proportions

On Wednesday last week, most of the apartment buildings at the Wang Fuk Court—which had been undergoing extensive renovations—were engulfed by fire. A probe subsequently revealed that protective netting surrounding the buildings fell short of fire safety regulations.

At least 13 suspects have been detained on suspicion of potential negligent homicide, including the directors of a contractor.

"Yes, it is a tragedy, it is a big fire. Changes are required. Failures have been detected in multiple areas. That is exactly why we must take decisive action to ensure that all these deficiencies are addressed," remarked Mr. Lee.

The Probe and Its Consequences

The blaze—that propagated rapidly both upwards and across the separate towers—was finally put out by the morning of Friday, approximately two days after it ignited, and took more than 2,000 fire service personnel to subdue.

The same day, police began entering the buildings to gather evidence. Authorities say the probe could take three to four weeks.

Systemic Failures Identified

Multiple inhabitants have said they were not alerted by a fire alarm when the blaze broke out. Hong Kong's fire service discovered that detection devices in each building were not working effectively.

The city's construction authority has temporarily suspended construction activities on numerous private sites.

Calls for Inquiry and Arrests

Separately, police reportedly detained a 24-year-old man on suspicion of subversion on the weekend. He was part of a gathering petitioning for an autonomous investigation into the tragedy. An online petition gathered more than 10,000 endorsements in under 24 hours before its contents were wiped.

A pair of additional persons, including a ex-local representative, were also questioned by officers, as reported by news outlets.

Global Response

The rights group and The monitoring body have both criticised the alleged detentions.

"The moment has come for the local government to openly examine the reasons of the tragic incident...instead of silencing those who raise appropriate concerns," Amnesty International said.

Background and Resident Profile

The residential complex was completed in the early 1980s and had provided close to 2,000 units for approximately 4,600 inhabitants, according to a population count.

Nearly 40% of its occupants are believed to be over 65 years old. Several have lived in the subsidised housing estate since it was built.

The city's second-worst blaze on in history took 176 individuals in the mid-20th century and was caused by a blast on the lower level at a commercial building. The deadliest was at a local racetrack in 1918, when in excess of 600 attendees perished.