Reuters photographer Tyrone Siu said he saw Wong by the roadside, gesturing with frantic grief when he arrived at the scene around an hour after the blaze started.
“It’s a picture that tells you everything straight away,” said Siu. “No matter where you are from in the world, you can feel what Mr Wong is feeling, the helplessness and the pain.”
Police officers comfort Wong, 71, amid the Hong Kong blaze.Credit: Reuters/Tyrone Siu
Wong’s son spoke to Reuters while police officers in hazmat suits and helmets combed the buildings for bodies. By Tuesday, there was still no update on his mother, Wong’s wife.
J Wong – who, like his father, declined to give his full name – said he wanted to tell his family’s story as part of a process of healing.
Authorities have pointed to substandard plastic mesh and insulation foam used during renovation work at the complex for a blaze that quickly spread to seven high-rise towers, home to more than 4000 people.
“On that first day, of course he couldn’t accept what happened,” Wong’s son told Reuters. When his father was looking at the fire, he “knew in his heart” from the condition of the building that his wife was lost.
At one point, Wong’s wife called Wong after the fire broke out and had a short conversation that lasted about a minute, their son said, declining to give details. “Soon after that chat, she disappeared.”
Wong said his father, who had worked as a foreman in building maintenance before retiring and was a certified electrician and plumber, had worried about the safety risks from the renovation on the building.
He had ripped out the styrofoam boards covering their windows and replaced them with fire-retardant plastic film. He also regularly sprayed water onto the green mesh outside their flat to keep it moist, the son said.
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“Despite knowing the risks, no matter what he did, he couldn’t change what happened,” said the son.
That afternoon, after the picture was taken, Wong senior stood watching the horror unfold, collapsing onto the pavement at one point. As night fell, a police officer brought him a blue plastic stool to sit on.
“I will come find you,” he muttered at one point, staring up towards his home and speaking to his wife.
