In Wang Fuk Court, fueled by scaffolding and styrofoam; escalated to level 5 alarm, killing 44, including firefighter Ho Wai-ho, and injuring 66.
Over 760 firefighters battled extreme heat and debris, 279 unaccounted for, 900 in shelters, as operations continue into Thursday amid falling scaffolding hazards.
Three construction workers detained for manslaughter via 'gross negligence'. Xi Jinping pledges aid, officials eye faulty wiring as cause in Hong Kong's deadliest blaze since 1948.
A ferocious fire tore through a densely packed public housing complex in Hong Kong's Tai Po district on Wednesday afternoon, engulfing seven residential towers and claiming at least 44 lives while leaving 279 people unaccounted for as rescue operations stretched into Thursday morning. The blaze, which erupted at the Wang Fuk Court estate in the New Territories, home to roughly 4,800 residents, spread rapidly via bamboo scaffolding and construction netting erected for ongoing maintenance, trapping many inside with windows sealed shut against dust.
Fire Services Department officials upgraded the alert to the highest level 5 within hours, deploying over 760 firefighters and dozens of engines to battle flames and thick black smoke that billowed across the skyline, visible from across the harbor. Among the dead was 37-year-old firefighter Ho Wai-ho, found with severe facial burns after losing contact with his team; 40 fatalities were declared at the scene, with four more succumbing in hospitals. At least 66 people were hospitalized, including 17 in critical condition and 24 seriously injured, many suffering from smoke inhalation and burns.
Chinese President Xi Jinping allocated 2 million yuan ($282,470) in emergency aid via the Red Cross, while Hong Kong officials vowed comprehensive criminal and safety investigations. This tragedy surpasses the 1962 Sham Shui Po tenement fire (also 44 deaths) as the city's worst since a 1948 warehouse inferno that killed 176, underscoring vulnerabilities in aging high-rises amid rapid urbanization. As smoldering towers stand silhouetted against the morning sky, grieving families and first responders cling to hope amid the ashes.
