The fire broke out at 2:51 PM local time on Wednesday. The fire raged in tens of storey residential towers in Tai Po district. This concerns the Wang Fuk Court complex, where there are approximately two thousand homes spread over eight blocks. Local media report that approximately four thousand people live there.
The fact that the fire was able to spread so quickly is probably due to the bamboo scaffolding that has been installed on the outside of several towers as major renovation works are underway. Hong Kong is one of the last places in the world where bamboo is still widely used for scaffolding in construction. The complex has been under renovation since July 2024, according to local media.
Arrests
Authorities have made arrests. This concerns three people between the ages of 52 and 68. They are suspected of manslaughter, authorities said.
Authorities advised trapped residents to use wet towels or tape to seal their windows and call emergency services for rescue. The homes on the highest floors proved difficult to reach.
About 700 firefighters have been deployed to control the fire. They will work late into the night to control the deadly fire in Wang Fuk Court. There are also numerous ambulances at the burning complex.
Authorities say they have received several reports of people in custody. It is still unclear how many residents are still in the buildings. Councilor Mui Sui-fung told BBC: “Many people sent us WhatsApp messages or called us, saying they still had relatives inside or that they could not find them.” The death toll from the fire may still rise.
Residents are on the street
According to Mui, residents were gradually evacuated around 3 p.m. local time: “I think about 95% of residents have already been evacuated, and three nearby social housing blocks have also been evacuated.”
The refugee residents, including people in wheelchairs, are being accommodated in a park and a school that temporarily serves as a shelter, reports the South China Morning Post. Large groups of people, including emotional residents, also watch.
Harry Cheung, who has lived in the second block of the Wang Fuk Court complex for more than 40 years, told Reuters he heard a very loud noise just before 3am. He saw a fire breaking out in a nearby block. “I immediately went back to pack my things,” the 66-year-old resident told the news agency.
He is desperate: “I don’t even know how I feel right now. I’m just thinking about where I’m going to sleep tonight, because I probably won’t be able to go back home.
“It’s a disaster,” student Tomas Liu told BBC. “As you get closer, the heat rises and you feel it burning. The smoke is enormous.”
Authorities report that a major highway through the metropolis is partly closed due to the fire. At around 6:30 PM local time, the Kwong Fuk Community Hall, which was closest to the fire and separated from Wang Fuk Court by a road, was declared unsafe.
Call for ‘everything that is possible’
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has expressed his condolences to the victims, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. He called on representatives of the Chinese Central Committee and Hong Kong’s Liaison Office to do “everything possible” to help prevent casualties.