HONG KONG, March 19 — An independent committee investigating a devastating fire that ripped through a Hong Kong housing complex last year was starting a series of public hearings today into the blaze that killed 168 people.

The blaze on November 26 at Wang Fuk Court, a high-rise apartment complex in the financial hub’s Tai Po district, was the world’s deadliest residential building fire since 1980.

It engulfed seven out of eight residential towers in the complex, which were undergoing renovations and covered in bamboo scaffolding, protective netting and foam boards that may have contributed to the fire’s rapid spread.

Yip Ka-kui, a former resident who lost his wife and home in the blaze, told AFP that he wanted “justice for the deceased and an explanation for the victims”.

“I hope the independent commission will truly investigate everyone involved, and clarify what responsibility they hold,” he said.

“They should take responsibility if they are at fault.”

The judge-led committee will investigate whether fire safety standards were inadequate, if construction practices contributed to the fire, and if there were failures on the part of government officers or contractors.

The committee’s website said it will also seek to determine whether there were more systemic problems, such as “undue connected interests, conflicts of roles, or improper collusion... and whether bid-rigging corruption, or irregularities were involved in the tendering process of these works”.

Witnesses expected to appear at the hearings include government officials, former residents, the directors of construction firms and members of the Wang Fuk Court management committee.

Police are also conducting a criminal investigation and have arrested 38 people on suspicion of manslaughter, as well as a further six on suspicion of fraud.

Hong Kong’s anti-graft watchdog has also arrested 23 people, including consultants, contractors and members of the owners’ corporation of the complex, the Independent Commission Against Corruption said in a statement yesterday. — AFP