A resident of Wang Sun House in Wang Fuk Court used a wearable exoskeleton to climb 17 floors back to his fire-damaged home on Tuesday, where he was met with a scene of near-total devastation but managed to salvage several items of great personal and monetary value.
The resident, surnamed Tam, made the arduous journey on the second day of a special arrangement allowing residents to return and retrieve their belongings following the recent fire.
He explained that it took him about 10 minutes to ascend the stairs using the exoskeleton, which he had purchased beforehand for approximately HK$6,000. He estimated the device eased the physical strain of the climb by "about 40 percent."
Upon finally entering his home, Tam was overcome with emotion at the scale of the destruction and burst into tears. "The entrance is horrifying," he described. "It's unsalvageable, most of the items are gone."
Despite the damage, Tam and his family managed to recover some gold items, coins, two safes, and his son's cherished metal models.
Later in the afternoon, he made a second trip upstairs to search his father's adjacent apartment. He went back to fulfill his father's wish of retrieving his watches and jade bracelets.
Tam also expressed hope that the government would arrange another opportunity for residents to return and collect more of their possessions.
Furthermore, he said he believed the government should help residents buy new properties and urged the Wang Fuk Court residents to put this tragedy behind them and rebuild their lives.
