By Clare Jim and Mei Mei Chu
HONG KONG, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Hong Kong authorities rushed on Thursday to remove mesh netting on all buildings undergoing renovation across the city after the material was blamed for fanning a blaze last week that has killed at least 159 people.
The government late on Wednesday ordered the immediate removal of scaffolding nets on all public and private residential buildings by Saturday, to "protect public safety and put residents and businesses' minds at ease."
The move comes as authorities investigate the cause of the city's deadliest fire in decades, having pointed to the mesh for fuelling an inferno that engulfed seven high-rise apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court complex on Nov 26.
Renovation work across the financial hub will effectively grind to a standstill for an undefined period of time as inspectors verify the netting meets safety standards.
At a housing estate in Sha Tin, around 15 minutes drive from the Wang Fuk complex, workers began dismantling protective netting on Thursday morning.
C.K. Lau, an 82 year old retiree living at the Sha Tin housing estate, said removing the nets reduced the chance of a similar type of incident.
"The residents feel better if they (the government) agree to take it down. So they agreed to take it down within this week."
Police have arrested a total of 21 people in their probe into the fire.
Among them are 15 from various construction companies suspected of manslaughter, including two directors and an engineering consultant from Prestige Construction, the main contractor at Wang Fuk Court.
A further six from the fire service installation contractor have been arrested on suspicion of fraud.
Authorities said substandard plastic mesh and insulation foam used during renovation work at the doomed estate likely fuelled the 40-hour inferno, while fire alarms were also not operating properly.
Residents of Wang Fuk Court, home to 4,600 people, were told by authorities last year they faced "relatively low fire risks" after they complained about fire hazards posed by the renovations, the city's Labour Department said.
In response to calls for transparency and accountability, city leader John Lee has also ordered a judge-led committee to investigate the fire and review oversight of building renovations.
CONTRACTORS TO BEAR COST OF REMOVAL
More than 200 private buildings, along with more than 10 public housing and government buildings, will have to remove the netting, Development Secretary Bernadette Linn said on Wednesday, adding that contractors must bear the costs.
Hong Kong's building department aims to issue a new code of practice next week, requiring all scaffold net materials to be sampled on site. The nets will only be installed after being certified by designated laboratories as compliant with relevant requirements.
Authorities are also investigating suspected false safety documents for netting from a Shandong, China-based manufacturer used at two renovation sites in the city.
Prestige, the main contractor at Wang Fuk Court, was involved in renovations work at one of those sites, according to authorities and notices at the site seen by Reuters.
Prestige did not respond to calls and letters left at their shuttered offices.
Of the 159 bodies found since the Wang Fuk Court blaze, authorities say 140 have been identified - 91 females and 49 males, aged between one and 97 years.
Foreign domestic helpers from Indonesia and the Philippines are among 31 people still missing.
More than 2,900 residents have been put in temporary accommodation, the government said, with 1,152 staying in hostels, camps or hotel rooms. Another 1,765 residents have moved into transitional housing units.
(Reporting by Fabian Hamacher, Jessie Pang, Laurie Chen, Donny Kwok, Clare Jim, Mei Mei Chu; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by John Geddie, Lincoln Feast and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
