Sawt Falasteen - Residents return to ravaged homes months after Hong Kong fire

The city's deadliest fire in decades killed 168 people when it ripped through seven of the eight apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court complex in November.

For the first time since then, around 6,000 residents are being given three-hour windows to enter their homes from Monday and get their belongings.

With 1,700 flats to pick through, authorities hope the process will be completed by early May.

An AFP reporter saw residents stepping out from government-organised shuttle buses as they arrived at the estate.

Officials have advised residents to prepare mentally, with the fire department warning that more than 920 homes had been damaged and some completely destroyed by the blaze.

Images released by government officials show the ceilings and walls of some flats have collapsed or been charred black, and the interiors littered with debris.

Damaged areas of the residential complex in Hong Kong's Tai Po district have been cordoned off as "danger zones", while reinforcement works have been carried out where the building structure was compromised.

Upon returning to their flats, residents were required to wear face masks, hard hats and gloves.

A 50-year-old resident surnamed Chung told reporters that he had prepared a screwdriver, scissors and plastic bags before returning to his flat on Monday.

"Once I'm up there, some places like the keyhole might be full of dust, and I'm worried I won't have the tools (to deal with it) if some parts need to be taken apart," he said.

- 'Wouldn't want to leave' -

Survivor Harry Leung, one of the last residents to leave the complex on the day of the blaze, told AFP that he had mixed emotions about his return.

While keen to see the flat where he had spent most of his life, he said he was disappointed by the short time frame he was allowed to spend there.

Three hours, he said, was not enough time.

Hong Kong officials have offered to buy the apartments back around the pre-fire market price, despite the damage, but said that rebuilding the complex on the same site was "not feasible".

"I believe there are actually quite a few people who don't want to accept (the government's offer), but have no other options. They've been forced to accept it," Leung told AFP.

"If I had a choice, I really wouldn't want to leave (Wang Fuk Court)," he said.

Betty Ho, who plans to return in May to the flat she lived in for more than 30 years, told AFP that what she wants most to retrieve are the photo albums of her childhood.

Her family's "entire life's possessions are inside that building", Ho said.

After the fire -- the world's deadliest residential building blaze since 1980 -- Ho relocated to temporary housing set up for Wang Fuk Court residents near the estate.

For now, she is allowed to stay there until the end of the year, but she told AFP she felt anxious and powerless when faced with the uncertainty of her future accommodation.

"Will we be evicted?" she asked. "Where will I find somewhere to live?"

K.Hassan--SF-PST