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One of the victims was identified as a 37-year-old firefighter who collapsed after losing contact with his team
James C. ReynoldsWednesday 26 November 2025 23:29 GMTComments
CloseAt least 44 dead as huge fire engulfs Hong Kong high-rise apartment blocks
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At least 44 people were killed and dozens injured in a fire that tore through dense residential high-rises in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Nearly 280 people were still unreachable or trapped by nightfall as firefighters were pushed back by intense heat and struggled to control the blaze.
Three construction executives, aged between between 52 and 68, have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the fire, police said.
Fire crews expect that the inferno will not be under control until the end of the day on Thursday, with winds fanning the flames between seven buildings covered in highly flammable bamboo scaffolding.
Officials said that the fire started on the external scaffolding, which was soon to be removed over safety concerns, before spreading inside. The exact cause is still unknown.
open image in gallery(AP)Residents described scenes of chaos as the fire ripped through the apartment blocks.
Harry Cheung, 66, who has lived at Block Two in one of the complexes for more than 40 years, said he heard a loud noise about 2.45pm local time and saw fire erupt in a nearby block.
"I immediately went back to pack up my things," he said.
"I don't even know how I feel right now. I'm just thinking about where I'm going to sleep tonight."
open image in gallerySeveral people are still missing or believed trapped inside the buildings, which caught fire on Wednesday afternoon (Reuters)One 71-year-old resident surnamed Wong broke down in tears, saying his wife was trapped inside.
It was unclear how many people were still inside the 32-storey towers at Wang Fuk Court, where the fire broke out earlier in the afternoon. Some 4,600 people live in flats across the complex.
Almost 800 firefighters and 57 ambulances were drawn in to help as Chinese president Xi Jinping called for an all-out effort from emergency services to extinguish the fire.
The president extended his condolences to the victims. The dead included one firefighter, identified as 37-year-old Ho Wai-ho, who was found collapsed after losing contact with his crew.
Director of fire services Andy Yeung described Ho as a “dedicated” and “gallant” firefighter.
At least 45 people remain in critical condition, officials said.
Some 700 people had to be evacuated to temporary shelters and an unspecified number of people were still missing by the evening, local officials said. Residents told local media that fire alarms had not sounded, potentially delaying the response.
Lo Hiu-fung, a Tai Po District Council member, told local TV station TVB that most of the residents trapped are believed to be elderly people.
"I've given up thinking about my property," one resident who only provided his surname, Wu, told TVB. "Watching it burn like that was really frustrating."
open image in galleryPeople look at flames engulfing a building in Hong Kong (AP)Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of Fire Services, said that rescue efforts were being hampered by debris and scaffolding still falling from the burning buildings.
“The temperature inside the buildings concerned is very high,” he said. “It’s difficult for us to enter the building and go upstairs to conduct firefighting and rescue operations.”
The blaze was upgraded to level 5 severity, the highest, as night fell. It was the first time in 17 years that a level 5 fire had hit Hong Kong.
Flames were still flickering brightly in windows as black smoke billowed from buildings into the evening.
Six schools in the area will remain closed on Thursday, with the fire expected to rage through the night.
open image in galleryFirefighters battled the inferno into the evening (AFP/Getty)The buildings, erected in 1983, were undergoing renovations when the fire broke out.
Hong Kong is one of the last places in the world to still use bamboo scaffolding in construction.
Tai Po is a suburban area in the New Territories, in the northern part of Hong Kong and near the border with the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.
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