Families of the Tai Po fire victims have started providing DNA samples to help identify their loved ones, as 31 people remain missing nearly two weeks after the deadly blaze.
Hong Kong police said they had reached out to families of the missing victims, as well as those who had preliminarily identified bodies through photos. On Monday, the families began giving oral DNA swab samples.
The process of comparing DNA samples with the bodies will take a few weeks, local media outlets reported.
At least 159 people were killed in the fire that broke out on November 26 and ripped through seven of the eight towers at the Wang Fuk Court housing estate. According to authorities, 19 bodies remain unidentified, and 31 people are still missing.
A woman surnamed Chan, whose parents remain missing, told Now TV on Monday that she had provided her DNA sample after a human-like skeleton was found in her family’s unit in the Tai Po housing estate.
“It was really sad, [we] really want to provide some identifies to [parents], even if we can’t find them…. we are having mixed feelings,” Chan said in Cantonese.
Resettlement
According to the 2021 census, Wang Fuk Court had around 2,000 residential units and around 4,000 residents.
As of Monday morning, 1,422 residents had been resettled in youth hostels, camps, or hotel rooms under arrangements made by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, according to the government.
Another 2,522 people are currently living “in transitional housing units provided by the Housing Bureau or units from the Hong Kong Housing Society.”
As of Monday, the government-established Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po had received HK$3 billion in external donations. Together with an initial government injection of HK$300 million, the fund now totals around HK$3.3 billion.
According to the government, the fund will provide HK$100,000 in living allowance to households affected by the fire and HK$200,000 in condolence money to households that have lost a family member in the blaze, as well as HK$50,000 to cover funeral costs.
As of Monday, a total of 1,357 cases of living allowance and 95 cases of condolence and funeral payments had been processed.
The government said it had disbursed an emergency subsidy of HK$10,000 to 1,932 households, adding that “the relevant disbursement is largely complete.”
