More than four months following a catastrophic apartment fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district, survivors are finally getting the chance to return and salvage what’s left of their possessions.
Fanny Mok, age 59, is utilizing robotic exoskeleton technology to assist her journey up to her 13th-floor unit, where she had made her home for three decades before the devastating November fire claimed 168 lives and forced over 4,000 people from their residences.
“My knees hurt, I don’t have enough strength, and I get short of breath,” Mok explained. She’s currently residing temporarily in a cramped hostel room approximately 25 minutes away from her previous residence.
Mok has been training to navigate stairs with the mechanical leg supports in a building close to Wang Fuk Court, the site where flames destroyed seven towering residential structures.
Beginning April 20 through May 4, displaced residents will receive their first opportunity to access their former homes, with each family allocated a three-hour period to gather personal items.
Mok joins several dozen fire victims who are utilizing the exoskeleton technology and participating in instructional courses to master their operation.
“There’s a real need. If I were 30, I wouldn’t need it. But at 60, I genuinely do,” she stated.
The AidVengers Federation, a non-governmental organization, is facilitating the program and requires former residents to successfully complete an examination before operating the exoskeletons, which are manufactured by Shanghai-based robotics firm Hypershell. According to the NGO, 70% of participants have passed the required test.
Constructed during the 1980s, Wang Fuk Court housed 4,600 individuals, with over one-third of the population being seniors above 65 years old. The majority are currently residing in temporary housing throughout the city.
The residential towers reach 31 stories high, creating a challenging ascent for many older former tenants. Additionally, residents expressed difficulty in gathering all personal possessions within the limited timeframe.
Betty Ho, 61, who occupied a 15th-floor unit for 35 years, expressed her desire to recover money and family photograph collections documenting her life from childhood through adulthood.
“How can you take everything you’ve lived with for decades out in just three hours? It’s basically impossible. Letting go of things is really very difficult,” Ho said.
