Hong Kong Fire Tragedy: Death Toll Rises To 128 As Search For Missing Continues

Hong Kong entered a period of public mourning on Saturday as the confirmed death toll from the Wang Fuk Court fire climbed to 128, with authorities warning that the number could rise as around 150 people remain unaccounted for. The blaze, which tore through a cluster of high-rise residential blocks in Tai Po on Wednesday, is the city’s deadliest fire since 1948.

According to Reuters, rescue operations at the eight-block complex concluded on Friday, but police have cautioned that the search for bodies is far from over. Officers in protective gear continued to move through unstable, burnt-out structures on Saturday, navigating collapsed bamboo scaffolding, green mesh sheeting and waterlogged corridors left behind after days of firefighting. Despite hundreds of personnel combing the site, no additional remains were recovered, though three cats and a turtle were rescued.

Police revised down the number of missing residents from 200 to 150 after some families confirmed they had located relatives who were initially believed to be missing. The estate, home to more than 4,600 people, had long-standing concerns over fire safety. Fire alarms were reportedly not functioning properly, and, as Reuters reported, residents had repeatedly warned authorities in 2024 that the renovation materials covering the buildings—including the green mesh and bamboo scaffolding—posed serious hazards.

Authorities have now arrested 11 people in connection with the disaster, including an engineering consultant, a scaffolding subcontractor and intermediaries. Earlier, police detained two directors and another engineering consultant from Prestige Construction—identified by the government as the firm handling maintenance works for over a year—on suspicion of manslaughter for allegedly using unsafe materials, such as flammable foam boards that blocked windows. Prestige did not respond to repeated calls for comment. Hong Kong’s anti-graft body on Friday confirmed the arrests of eight individuals linked to the case, part of widening investigations into possible corruption and negligence.

Mainland China on Saturday ordered a nationwide inspection of fire risks at high-rise buildings, with a particular emphasis on residential blocks undergoing renovation. Local pressure for accountability is also building. While public anger has so far remained subdued compared with 2019’s mass protests, volunteers near the estate distributed flyers demanding an independent investigation, clarity on alleged corruption, and proper resettlement for affected families. An online petition calling for government accountability had gathered around 10,000 signatures by Saturday afternoon. “The government should not oppose them. If it opposes them, it is too sensitive and irresponsible,” said Miles, a member of the Tai Po Fire Concern Group, who withheld his surname due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Hong Kong leader John Lee led a three-minute silence on Saturday morning, joined by officials and civil servants dressed in black as flags across the city were lowered to half-mast. Condolence books have been placed at 18 locations for residents to pay their respects. Britain’s King Charles expressed his sympathy in a statement calling the incident an “appalling tragedy”.

Families and mourners gathered around Wang Fuk Court throughout the day, laying flowers near the cordoned-off site. Some faced the grim task of studying photographs of recovered bodies taken by rescue workers. Christy Tang, 67, said she had been searching for a friend, an active retiree who loved singing and sports. “We checked the photos of dead bodies trying to identify her but to no avail,” she said after placing flowers nearby.

Domestic workers were also among the victims. Indonesia confirmed that six of its citizens died, while the Philippines reported one worker critically injured, another confirmed missing and 28 others whose whereabouts remain unclear. According to Reuters, one of the injured, 28-year-old Filipina worker Rhodora Alcaraz, had sheltered her employers’ three-month-old baby in a wet blanket while trapped in a smoke-filled room for hours before being rescued. “I’m feeling very weak. I can’t breathe,” she said in a panicked audio message to her sister during the fire.

The scale of the disaster has prompted comparisons to the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London. Residents of Wang Fuk Court were told last year that they faced “relatively low fire risks”, despite raising multiple concerns with the Labour Department about the renovation works and the flammability of materials used.

Search operations are expected to continue for three to four weeks, Hong Kong’s Home Secretary Alice Mak said. Police officials noted that the two blocks inspected on Saturday were the least damaged, suggesting deeper searches of severely affected areas may uncover more victims.

China’s national security office in Hong Kong released a statement saying it fully supports authorities in taking firm action against anyone who sought to “use disaster to disrupt Hong Kong”.

(With inputs from Reuters)