{"id":312945,"date":"2025-11-27T21:23:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T21:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/312945\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T21:23:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T21:23:27","slug":"one-of-hong-kongs-deadliest-fires-engulfed-multiple-high-rise-towers-in-just-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/312945\/","title":{"rendered":"One of Hong Kong’s deadliest fires engulfed multiple high-rise towers in just hours"},"content":{"rendered":"

With at least 83 people killed, the inferno at Wang Fuk Court is Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in more than 70 years.<\/p>\n

Authorities say the “negligent” use of flammable building materials contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze across a group of residential high-rise apartments.<\/p>\n

In a city with one of the highest population densities in the world, about 4,800 residents lived in towers, including many older people.<\/p>\n

There are fears the death toll could significantly rise<\/a> with more than 250 people still missing and dozens of others hospitalised.<\/p>\n

This is how the catastrophe unfolded.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The fire spread from one side of the complex to the other, with only Wang Chi House escaping unscathed. (ABC News Graphics: Jarrod Fankhauser)<\/p>\n

The first call came in at about 2:52pm, Hong Kong Time (HKT), on Wednesday that a high-rise building in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district was on fire.<\/p>\n

In a cluster of eight 32-storey residential towers, it was not long before the buildings on either side were ablaze.<\/p>\n

At 3:34pm, a category three fire alarm was raised as residents frantically fled the Wang Fuk Court apartments.<\/p>\n

The densely populated district is home to more than 300,000 people, and the towers house about 2,000 apartments.<\/p>\n

ABC journalist Mary Lloyd, who used to live in Hong Kong, said the area was once a fishing village but over the past few decades, thousands of flats were built in densely-packed estates.<\/p>\n

“The area is surrounded by country park and is served by the train line that connects the central districts of Hong Kong with the border of mainland China,” she said.<\/p>\n

By 5pm, large crowds had started gathering, according to local press.<\/p>\n

People were crying and folding their hands in prayer, watching as more and more apartment blocks were engulfed in flames.<\/p>\n

Four people had already been declared dead.<\/p>\n

A 37-year-old firefighter who was rushed to hospital died at 4:41pm.<\/p>\n

\"Firefighters<\/p>\n

There are fears the death toll could rise with several hundred people still missing. (AP: Chan Long Hei)<\/p>\n

Thick smoke billowed and loud cracking sounds were heard, possibly from the burning bamboo scaffolding surrounding the buildings, which had been under renovation.<\/p>\n

Just before 6:30pm, a level five fire alarm was raised, the highest level available.<\/p>\n

Hong Kong’s fire department said it expected the fire to be extinguished by Friday, more than 24 hours after it started.<\/p>\n

It was the first five-alarm fire in Hong Kong since the Cornwall Court fire in 2008, when four people died after a blaze broke out in a nightclub and karaoke bar in Mong Kok.<\/p>\n

It is also now Hong Kong’s deadliest fire since 1948, when a fire at a five-storey warehouse in the Central and Western district killed 176 people.<\/p>\n

\"Firefighters<\/p>\n

More than 750 firefighters, 120 fire engines, 50 ambulances and about 400 police officers responded to the fires. (AP: Chan Long Hei)<\/p>\n

How the fire spread so rapidly<\/p>\n

The fire rapidly spread to seven of the eight towers at a pace authorities said was “unusual”.<\/p>\n

Director of Fire Services Andy Yeung Yan-kin revealed that officers discovered styrofoam inside the burning buildings.<\/p>\n

Styrofoam boards had been used to block windows in some of the apartments.<\/p>\n

Mr Yeung said the “highly flammable” material caused the fire to spread more quickly within the blocks and ignite flats through the corridors.<\/p>\n

While seven of the towers burned, police and firefighters were able to access the eighth building.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Built in the early 1980s, the Wang Fuk Court complex is under a government-subsidised home ownership scheme, according to property agency websites. (AP: Chan Long Hei)<\/p>\n

Security Secretary Chris Tang said they discovered “exterior netting, tarpaulin and plastic sheeting that burned far more intensely than permitted materials” as well as styrofoam stuck to window frames.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Scaffolding on a Hong Kong construction site in 2024. (ABC News: Jarrod Fankhauser)<\/p>\n

Two directors and a consultant for a construction company have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, Hong Kong police have confirmed.<\/p>\n

Occupied since 1983, the complex is under the government’s subsidised home ownership scheme, according to property agency websites.<\/p>\n

Last year, it made headlines after a $HK330 million ($65.37 million) renovation was approved.<\/p>\n

The construction works have seen the buildings encased in bamboo scaffolding and green netting,<\/a> which fanned the fire and worsened conditions for firefighters.<\/p>\n

Footage shows the fire spreading quickly through the bamboo.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

Ehsan Noroozinejad, a senior researcher and global challenge lead from the Urban Transformations Research Centre at Western Sydney University, said the bamboo scaffold acted as a continuous external fuel path.<\/p>\n

The role of bamboo scaffolding in deadly Hong Kong fire<\/a><\/p>\n

Authorities say the blaze in Tai Po that engulfed multiple high-rise apartment blocks likely began in bamboo scaffolding that encased the buildings.<\/p>\n

“Dry culms [bamboo stems] have high surface-area-to-mass ratios and, when wrapped with plastic mesh, create a ventilated ‘chimney’ that supports rapid flame spread and radiant pre-heating of the next bay,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The lattice continuity, closely spaced ledgers and lashings provided uninterrupted heat bridges across floors and corners; once windows failed, the exterior fire coupled with interior contents, accelerating the event.<\/p>\n

“This isn’t a craftsmanship issue but a materials-and-configuration problem: a combustible, porous frame placed against an occupied high-rise with few intentional breaks.”<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People look at flames engulfing the Wang Fuk Court complex. (AP: Chan Long Hei)<\/p>\n

For decades in the skyscraper-strewn city, bamboo has been the material of choice for scaffolding \u2014 cheap, abundant and flexible \u2014 bound together with nylon cords.<\/p>\n

The government began phasing out the use of bamboo in March for safety reasons.<\/p>\n

Firefighting and evacuation challenges<\/p>\n

Deputy director of fire services Derek Armstrong Chan said falling debris and scaffolding posed “additional danger to our front-line personnel”.<\/p>\n

Another major difficulty faced during the operation was the number of floors that were on fire, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Officers were only able to enter the buildings from the ground floor during the rescue.<\/p>\n

Firefighters worked through the night, but struggled to reach the upper floors of the 32-storey towers due to intense heat and thick smoke.<\/p>\n

Local media reported that water jets also did not seem to be able to reach the higher flats.<\/p>\n

More than 750 firefighters, 120 fire engines, 50 ambulances and about 400 police officers responded to the blaze.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Ambulances and firefighter trucks outside Wang Fuk Court. (AP: Chan Long Hei)<\/p>\n

Raymond Cheung, a former firefighter from Hong Kong who now lives in Heidelberg in Melbourne, knows firsthand how challenging the disaster would have been for his former colleagues.<\/p>\n

“It’s so tough with high temperatures, poor ventilation, and they have to carry so much equipment,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne.<\/p>\n

“They’re still doing a very hardworking and industrious job, so it’s time to pray for them, and to support them as well.”\"Firefighters<\/p>\n

The fires at the Wang Fuk Court complex have drawn comparisons to the Grenfell Tower inferno that killed 72 people in London in 2017. (AP: Chan Long Hei)<\/p>\n

Fears for missing residents<\/p>\n

A 65-year-old resident surnamed Yuen said the neighbourhood was home to many older residents who use wheelchairs and walkers.<\/p>\n

He said as the apartment complex was undergoing maintenance, many residents kept their windows shut and so did not hear the fire alarm.<\/p>\n

“There is loss of property and loss of life, and even a firefighter has died,” Mr Yuen told the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n

The blaze left him and his wife homeless.<\/p>\n

Ng’s windows were locked when she heard what she thought were firecrackers.<\/p>\n

The woman, who declined to give her full name, managed to flee her 19th-floor apartment.<\/p>\n

Ng, in her 60s, said her heart was pounding as she and her family hurriedly evacuated the home she had lived in for more than four decades.<\/p>\n

\"Residents<\/p>\n

Residents rest at a temporary shelter. (AP: Chan Long Hei)<\/p>\n

More than 900 evacuees made it to shelters, but hundreds more were still missing on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Police said they had received calls earlier from residents still trapped in the building.<\/p>\n

Residents have been documenting missing persons through a social media app.<\/p>\n

It shows reports submitted through a linked Google document about individual towers and rooms.<\/p>\n

It includes descriptions such as “Mother-in-law in her 70s, missing” or “one boy and one girl” or “a middle-aged lady, weak” or “Rooftop: 33-year-old male.”<\/p>\n

Most of the missing reports are from the upper floors of the “E” and “F” tower blocks.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A woman receives medical attention at a temporary shelter. (Reuters: Tyrone Siu)<\/p>\n

Hundreds of pets trapped<\/p>\n

Hong Kong resident Jason Kong was forced to leave behind his 10-year-old poodle, Ber Ber, when police barred him from returning to his apartment.<\/p>\n

“My dog was at home, so I thought of coming back and bringing the dog down from the apartment. It was just around 5pm and the police would not let me up,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I am afraid the smoke will suffocate him.”<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

There are estimates that more than 100 pets were still trapped inside the Wang Fuk Court estate. (Reuters: Tyrone Siu)<\/p>\n

A pet rescue organisation estimated that more than 100 pets were trapped inside the estate.<\/p>\n

“We estimate that every block has more than 10 animals of different species,” Zoie Cheng Kam-shan, business development director of the Hong Kong Pet Club, told South China Morning Post.<\/p>\n

“We have received over 70 reports but are receiving more. So I estimate that there will be more than 100.”<\/p>\n

\"Residents<\/p>\n

More than 900 people made it to the evacuation shelters but hundreds more are still missing. (AP: Chan Long Hei)<\/p>\n

By early Thursday morning, local time, authorities said they had brought the fire in four blocks under control, with operations continuing in three blocks after more than 15 hours.<\/p>\n

The latest fire has prompted comparisons to the Grenfell Tower inferno that killed 72 people in London<\/a> in 2017.<\/p>\n

That fire was blamed on firms fitting the exterior with flammable cladding, as well as failings by the government and the construction industry.<\/p>\n

“The priority is to extinguish the fire and rescue the residents who are trapped,” Hong Kong leader John Lee told reporters earlier.<\/p>\n

“The second is to support the injured. The third is to support and recover. Then, we’ll launch a thorough investigation.”<\/p>\n

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