HONG KONG, Nov 27: A catastrophic fire that tore through the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in Tai Po has killed at least 44 people, left nearly 300 unaccounted for, and triggered the arrest of three construction-company officials on suspicion of manslaughter.
The blaze, which erupted on Wednesday afternoon, continued burning into Thursday as firefighters struggled to reach upper floors of the tightly packed 32-storey towers, their efforts hampered by intense heat, dense smoke, and bamboo scaffolding wrapped in green protective mesh. The estate, home to more than 4,600 residents, has been undergoing year-long renovation work.
Police say early evidence points to serious negligence by the contractor responsible for the building maintenance. Officers reported finding foam-sealed windows and non-standard plastic materials that may have fueled the inferno, prompting the arrest of two company directors and an engineering consultant.
Authorities managed to bring four of the seven affected blocks under control by Thursday morning, but flames remained visible in at least two towers nearly 22 hours after the fire began. A firefighter is among the dead, and 45 victims remain in critical condition in hospitals across the city.
The disaster marks Hong Kong’s deadliest fire since 1948 and has drawn comparisons to London’s 2017 Grenfell Tower tragedy. Hundreds of families have sought shelter in emergency centres while frantic residents continue searching for missing relatives, sharing names, room numbers and desperate pleas online. Many survivors described rushing out with only minutes to escape.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee vowed a full investigation, saying the government’s immediate focus is “rescue, medical support, and recovery.” China’s President Xi Jinping has called for an “all-out effort” to extinguish the fire and minimise casualties.
The incident has sparked public anger over construction safety lapses and the government’s slow phase-out of bamboo scaffolding, despite a string of worker deaths. With legislative elections looming in December, the tragedy is expected to intensify scrutiny over housing safety and the city’s chronic shortage of affordable, well-maintained homes.
The Wang Fuk Court complex, built in 1983 under a subsidised ownership scheme, has been undergoing HK$330 million in renovations—now at the centre of a crime probe that could widen in the coming days.
