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The city's chief executive, John Lee, has ordered the creation of an independent committee to probe the origins of a devastating fire that took a minimum of 151 people.

A Blaze of Unprecedented Scale

This past Wednesday, most of the apartment buildings at the housing complex—that was in the midst of major refurbishment—went up in flames. Authorities later discovered that construction site netting surrounding the buildings failed to meet fire safety regulations.

No fewer than 13 people have been detained on suspicion of alleged culpable homicide, among them the directors of a construction company.

"Yes, it is a tragedy, the fire was immense. Yes, we need reform. Failures have been detected in multiple areas. That is exactly why we must respond rigorously to guarantee all these loopholes are plucked," stated the leader.

The Probe and Its Consequences

The blaze—which spread quickly both vertically and from building to building—was only fully doused by Friday morning, around 40 hours after it began, and required over 2,000 firefighters to bring under control.

That very day, authorities started accessing the buildings to gather evidence. Authorities say the investigation could take several weeks.

Shortcomings Uncovered

A number of occupants have stated they were not alerted by a emergency siren when the incident broke out. Local firefighters determined that warning systems in each building were malfunctioning.

The relevant regulatory body has halted for now renovation projects on numerous private sites.

Calls for Inquiry and Arrests

Separately, police reportedly detained a young man on allegations of incitement on Saturday. He was involved with a gathering calling for an autonomous investigation into the fire. An digital signature drive amassed in excess of 10,000 signatures in under 24 hours before its page was taken down.

Two other people, comprising a ex-local representative, were also taken in by authorities, according to news outlets.

Global Response

The rights group and The monitoring body have both condemned the said apprehensions.

"The moment has come for the local government to transparently investigate the reasons of the tragic incident...as opposed to muzzling those who pose valid inquiries," Amnesty International said.

Historical Context and Demographics

The residential complex was constructed in the early 1980s and had provided 1,984 apartments for around 4,600 occupants, according to a population count.

Nearly 40% of its residents are thought to be over 65 years old. A number have resided in the public housing complex since it was built.

Hong Kong's second-deadliest fire on record took 176 people in the mid-20th century and was caused by a detonation at street level at a commercial building. The worst was at Happy Valley Racecourse in the early 1900s, when over 600 people lost their lives.