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Hong Kong's leader, John Lee, has mandated the establishment of an autonomous task force to probe the origins of a catastrophic blaze that claimed the lives of 151 people.

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 consumed by a blaze. Authorities later discovered that safety scaffolding mesh installed on the buildings fell short of flame retardant standards.

No fewer than 13 people have been detained on suspicion of potential negligent homicide, among them the executives of a construction company.

"Yes, it is a tragedy, it is a major blaze. Yes, we need reform. We have uncovered shortcomings in multiple areas. Hence we must respond rigorously to make certain all these gaps are plucked," he said.

The Probe and Its Consequences

The fire—that propagated rapidly both vertically and across the separate towers—was only fully doused by Friday morning, around 40 hours after it began, and required in excess of 2,000 fire service personnel to contain.

The same day, authorities started accessing the buildings to gather evidence. Authorities say the inquiry could require three to four weeks.

Systemic Failures Identified

Multiple inhabitants have reported they failed to hear a smoke detector when the blaze started. Hong Kong's fire service discovered that alarms in each building were operating inadequately.

Hong Kong's buildings department has temporarily suspended works on numerous private sites.

Calls for Inquiry and Arrests

In a related development, police reportedly detained a young man on suspicion of subversion on Saturday. He was among a group calling for an independent inquiry into the blaze. An digital signature drive gathered over 10,000 endorsements in under 24 hours before its information was removed.

Two other people, among them a past council member, were also taken in by officers, according to local media reports.

Global Response

The human rights organization and Another watchdog have both criticised the alleged detentions.

"This is the occasion for the local government to transparently investigate the origins of the devastating fire...rather than muzzling those who pose valid inquiries," Amnesty International said.

Historical Context and Demographics

The housing estate was completed in the early 1980s and had supplied close to 2,000 units for some 4,600 occupants, per a recent official survey.

Nearly 40% of its residents are estimated to be over 65 years of age. Several have resided in the subsidised housing estate since it was built.

The city's second-most fatal incident on file took 176 people in 1948 and was triggered by a blast on the lower level at a commercial building. The most deadly was at Happy Valley Racecourse in 1918, when in excess of 600 attendees died.