{"id":316222,"date":"2025-11-27T06:18:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T06:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/316222\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T06:18:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T06:18:08","slug":"live-updates-hong-kong-apartment-fire-at-least-44-dead-hundreds-missing-in-tai-po-district","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/316222\/","title":{"rendered":"Live updates: Hong Kong apartment fire, at least 44 dead, hundreds missing in Tai Po district"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n A deadly inferno has torn through a massive housing complex in Hong Kong, killing at least 44 people with more than 270 others still missing, in what is likely the most deadly blaze<\/a> in Hong Kong since World War II.\n <\/p>\n

\n Firefighters are still trying to get parts of the fire under control more than 20 hours after it broke out.\n <\/p>\n

\n Questions are mounting about how the fire in a skyscraper-filled city with a usually strong public safety record and construction standards could become so deadly, leaping from building to building.\n <\/p>\n

\n Here\u2019s the latest:\n <\/p>\n

\n What is happening: A fire spread across seven towers at Wang Fuk Court, a public housing estate in the Tai Po District that was home to more than 4,000 people<\/a>. Firefighters are still working to extinguish<\/a> at least three towers at the complex, which was home to a disproportionately high percentage of elderly residents<\/a>. There is now a huge concern that the buildings may collapse<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n The complex was under renovation and encased in bamboo scaffolding and safety netting<\/a> \u2013 a construction technique ubiquitous in Hong Kong.\n <\/p>\n

\n Critical injuries: At least 66 people have been admitted to hospital as of 8 a.m. local time, with 17 in critical condition and 24 in serious condition.\n <\/p>\n

\n Residents displaced: Hundreds of residents are now likely homeless in a city with an acute shortage of housing. Some residents would have waited years for a home in the public estate. About 900 people are<\/a> in temporary shelters.\n <\/p>\n

\n Many trapped: Last night, firefighters trying to reach people trapped on upper floors of the burning buildings faced extremely high temperatures<\/a> and falling debris<\/a>, hindering rescues, according to the fire department. Last night, fire officials urged those trapped to seal doors and windows with tape and wet napkins<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n How China is responding: Chinese leader Xi Jinping expressed his condolences<\/a> to the fire victims, and designated 2 million yuan ($282,470) to Red Cross emergency assistance<\/a>. Chinese tech giants Xiaomi and Tencent, as well as apparel conglomerate Anta, announced donations totaling $6.4 million<\/a> to Hong Kong. Posts about the fire had more than one billion views<\/a> in mainland China, where social media is strictly monitored by the government.\n <\/p>\n

\n The investigation: The fire spread in an \u201cunusual\u201d manner<\/a>, and a criminal investigation has been launched, Security Secretary Chris Tang said. Hong Kong Police said they arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter<\/a> \u2014 two directors and a consultant of a construction company \u2014 and accused them of \u201cgross negligence.\u201d Authorities will also investigate whether building materials complied with fire safety standards.\n <\/p>\n

\n Historic disaster: The blaze was declared a level five fire, the highest rating used in one of the world\u2019s most densely populated cities, with the highest concentrations of skyscrapers. But Hong Kong has retained a strong track record<\/a> on building safety, thanks to its high-quality construction and strict enforcement of building regulations.\n <\/p>\n

\n CNN\u2019s Chris Lau, Jessie Yeung, Kevin Wang and Karina Tsui contributed reporting.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A deadly inferno has torn through a massive housing complex in Hong Kong, killing at least 44 people…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":316223,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[88,92],"class_list":{"0":"post-316222","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316222"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316222\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}