Hong Kong is reeling from its deadliest fire in decades after a massive blaze tore through the Wang Fuk Court public housing complex on Wednesday, killing at least 128 people and leaving many more missing.
As exhausted survivors gather in emergency shelters, anger is rising over how a fire could engulf seven residential towers in one afternoon in a city known for strict building safety standards.
The fire began shortly after 2:45 p.m., rapidly spreading through the 32-storey blocks that were under renovation and wrapped in bamboo scaffolding. Within minutes, flames climbed the exterior of the towers, sending collapsing poles and thick black smoke cascading down the buildings.
Residents say alarms failed in several blocks and evacuations were slow, forcing many to flee through stairwells filled with gas fumes.
Wan, a resident who escaped with his two dogs, said he noticed nothing unusual until screams outside prompted him to open his window. “The instant I opened the window, I saw the smoke,” he said from a sports center converted into a shelter. “There’s no home to go back to… we have nothing.”
By 3:15 p.m., firefighters were on site, but the blaze had already spread between buildings. It was upgraded to a Level 4 alarm shortly afterward and to the maximum Level 5 by early evening.
As night fell, frantic families filled social media groups trying to trace loved ones, while news images of the burning blocks shocked the city of 7.5 million.
Investigators are now examining whether renovation materials fuelled the disaster. Police say protective nets, plastic covers, and polystyrene boards, highly flammable items found in stairwells and blocking windows, may have violated safety standards.
Residents had raised concerns about fire hazards for more than a year, including repeated warnings about the safety of scaffold netting.
The Labour Department confirmed it had carried out 16 inspections since mid-2024 and recently reminded contractors to improve fire prevention measures.
Three people have been arrested as both criminal and anti-corruption probes widen. Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption has launched a task force to investigate the renovation contracts, while the city’s leader has ordered safety inspections at all public housing estates undergoing major works.
The human toll is only beginning to emerge. Wang Fuk Court housed more than 4,000 people, many of them elderly. Government data shows the largest age group in the estate is residents over 65, raising fears that vulnerable occupants may have struggled to escape.
Hundreds are now homeless, and officials warn the death toll could rise as search teams move through charred apartments.
For survivors like Yuen, the uncertainty is unbearable. His parents, both in their 70s, lived on the same floor as him but have not been heard from since the fire. Another evacuee told CNN that he had spent months renovating a newly purchased unit. “I was preparing to move in,” he said. “Now it’s all burnt.”
As Hong Kong mourns, residents are demanding accountability, from construction contractors to safety regulators. Many say the tragedy was not only devastating but avoidable.
Source: CNN
Written By Rodney Mbua
