Deadly Inferno Engulfs Hong Kong Residential Complex
At least thirty-six people have lost their lives and 279 remain unaccounted for after a catastrophic fire tore through a high-rise housing estate in Hong Kong's Tai Po district. The blaze, which represents the city's deadliest fire incident in nearly three decades, has left dozens injured and multiple residents trapped within the burning buildings.
Emergency Response and Casualties
The Fire Services Department received the first emergency calls at 2:51 PM local time on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, reporting flames erupting at Wang Fuk Court housing complex. The fire rapidly escalated to a Level 5 alert, the highest severity classification, by 6:22 PM as strong winds fanned the flames across seven of the complex's eight residential blocks.
Among the deceased was a 37-year-old firefighter with nine years of service who lost contact with his team around 3:30 PM. Colleagues located him thirty minutes later, and he was pronounced dead at hospital by 4:45 PM. At least one other firefighter remains hospitalised alongside three critically injured civilians, including a man and woman suffering severe burns.
Emergency services face significant challenges reaching upper floors due to intense heat, with containment efforts becoming more difficult after nightfall. Approximately 900 residents have been evacuated to temporary shelters, while authorities believe at least thirteen people, including eight elderly residents and two babies, remain trapped within the burning towers.
Scaffolding Safety Concerns
The fire spread rapidly across bamboo scaffolding that encased multiple 31-storey towers undergoing major renovations. Hong Kong remains one of the last places globally where bamboo scaffolding remains widely used in construction, despite government plans announced in March to phase out the material from public projects due to safety concerns.
Video footage from the scene showed flames leaping between at least five adjacent buildings, with fire erupting from numerous apartment windows. Firefighters deployed ladder trucks to direct water streams at the intense blaze from elevated positions as thick black smoke billowed across the suburban district.
Witness Harry Cheung, a 66-year-old resident of Block Two for over forty years, described hearing "a very loud noise at around 2:45 PM" before seeing fire erupt in a neighbouring block. "I immediately went back to pack up my things," he told Reuters. "I'm just thinking about where I'm going to sleep tonight because I probably won't be able to go back home."
Community Impact and Government Response
The devastating blaze has prompted widespread disruption throughout Tai Po, a suburban area housing approximately 300,000 residents near the border with Shenzhen. Authorities have closed sections of the Tai Po road, one of Hong Kong's main highways, and diverted bus routes while advising nearby residents to remain indoors with windows and doors closed.
Police began evacuating residents from the neighbouring Kwong Fuk Estate public housing complex by 6:00 PM, while officers established a dedicated hotline (1878 999) for public enquiries regarding casualties.
Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee convened an emergency meeting Wednesday evening, with a government statement confirming: "All government departments are fully assisting residents affected by the fire, prioritising the safety and well-being of the public."
This tragedy represents Hong Kong's most lethal fire since 1996, when forty-one people died in a Kowloon commercial building blaze later attributed to welding during renovations. That incident prompted comprehensive updates to building standards and fire safety regulations throughout the city.
Wang Fuk Court, occupied since 1983, provides nearly 2,000 residential units housing approximately 4,000 residents. The complex was undergoing a HK$330 million (£32 million) renovation programme, with individual units contributing between HK$160,000 and HK$180,000 toward the works.
