An independent committee probing the Tai Po inferno revealed on Thursday that the fireman who died during the blaze had entered the wrong building.

On the first day of the probe's hearing, committee senior counsel Victor Dawes said Ho Wai-ho was meant to conduct a rescue operation in Wang Cheong House, but in the general confusion, entered the adjacent Wang Tai House.

Minutes after his entry, Ho relayed mayday signals over the radio from the 30th floor, but was unable to tell which building he was in.

Dawes told the hearing that in an apparent attempt to escape, the 37-year-old removed his breathing apparatus and gloves and attempted to break windows on the 31st floor.

He was later found outside lying on the ground floor in an open space near Wang Tai House, and was later certified dead at hospital.

His uniform, Dawes said, had clearly been burnt.

Ho was one of 168 people who died during the Tai Po fire last November.


Edited by Aaron Tam