A British man has recounted the terrifying moment he believed he was facing certain death while trapped inside his burning Hong Kong apartment block, speaking to his panicked mother in the UK as flames engulfed the building.
A Desperate Phone Call to the UK
William Li, 40, found himself imprisoned within his flat for over two hours after opening his door minutes after the blaze began. He was immediately met with a corridor filled with thick, black smoke. "Everything went black before my eyes," Li recalled. "I thought to myself: I'm in serious trouble."
The father-of-two first helped two elderly neighbours, who were struggling to escape, into his apartment for safety. It was then he received a call from his distressed mother, who was watching events unfold from 6,000 miles away in the United Kingdom. While he attempted to reassure her, he admitted being more frank with friends, even asking them to help take care of his family as he felt he was "facing the end of my life".
A Miraculous Rescue from the Inferno
The situation grew increasingly dire as Li learned his neighbours' window had overheated and shattered, allowing fire to rush into their home. Seeing flames closing in, he began to fear his flat would suffer the same fate. "That was the moment I began to feel death was very close to me," he said. "I was terrified, helpless... In that instant I felt powerless, as if there was nothing I could do except wait."
Help finally arrived when firefighters accessed the scaffolding outside his window with a ladder. Demonstrating remarkable selflessness, Mr Li insisted the firefighters save his elderly neighbours first. He then had to crawl through a small window onto the scaffolding himself, navigating through dense smoke and falling debris while firefighters hosed him down with water for protection.
"The cold water drenched my whole body and the emotions were overwhelming, hard to describe," Li remembered. "But I felt very lucky."
Emotional Reunion and Ongoing Crisis
The emotional toll was evident when Li was finally reunited with his family outside the blazing buildings. His wife had cried until she "was completely dry, unable to cry anymore". His daughter immediately rushed over to hug him, exclaiming repeatedly, "Daddy didn't die, Daddy didn't die". His son sat quietly nearby, tears streaming down his face.
The devastating blaze, which began shortly before 3pm local time on Thursday, has claimed at least 128 lives, with the status of another 150 people remaining unclear. The fire spread rapidly between the 31-storey structures in Hong Kong's Tai Po district, jumping from building to building as bamboo scaffolding covered in netting and foam panels caught fire.
Authorities suspect some materials on the exterior walls, which were undergoing renovation, did not meet fire resistance standards, contributing to the unusually fast spread. The city's anti-corruption agency has arrested eight people connected to renovation work at the high-rises in connection with the disaster.
Mr Li is now facing an uncertain future with his family, having lost their home and possessions. "No matter how many supplies are given, they are of little use - we can only carry what our two hands can hold," he said, while expressing gratitude for the compassion and generosity shown by the people of Hong Kong during this tragic time.
