The death toll after the deadliest blaze in Hong Kong’s modern history has risen to 94 as firefighters battled for a second day to extinguish the fire
The death toll from Hong Kong’s most devastating fires in modern times has climbed to 94 as firefighters continued their second day battling to put out the blaze.
Emergency crews with torches were searching flat by flat through the blackened towers as dense smoke billowed from windows at the Wang Fuk Court estate, a sprawling complex home to thousands in Tai Po district, a northern area close to the mainland border.
Fire crews are still tackling a number of flats and attempting to access every unit across the seven towers to confirm no additional victims remain, according to AP reports.
“Our firefighting operation is almost complete,” stated Derek Armstrong Chan, deputy director of Fire Services Operations, with crews working tirelessly “to prevent the debris and embers from flaring up. What’s next is the search and rescue operation,” he explained.
The number of people still unaccounted for or trapped remains unknown, with Hong Kong leader John Lee confirming that contact had been lost with 279 individuals early Thursday, November 27, reports the Express.
Fire crews have been fighting the flames since mid-afternoon Wednesday, when the inferno is thought to have ignited in bamboo scaffolding and construction mesh before racing through seven of the estate’s eight blocks.
Chan described how the fire spread “exceptionally fast” throughout the buildings, with rescue teams finding it difficult to get inside. “Debris and scaffolding were falling from upper floors,” he told reporters.
“There are also other reasons like high temperature, darkness … (and) emergency vehicle access was blocked by fallen scaffolding and debris, making our access to the building very difficult.”
Over 70 people sustained injuries, including 11 firefighters, alongside the 94 fatalities, according to the Fire Services Department. Around 900 residents were moved to emergency accommodation overnight.
Pope Leo XIV dispatched a telegram to Hong Kong’s bishop on Thursday, expressing his sorrow over the blaze and offering prayers for the wounded, their loved ones and rescue teams.
Local resident Lawrence Lee anxiously awaited updates about his wife, whom he feared remained trapped inside their flat.
“When the fire started, I told her on the phone to escape. But once she left the flat, the corridor and stairs were all filled with smoke and it was all dark, so she had no choice but to go back to the flat,” he explained whilst waiting at one of the emergency centres through the night.
Winter and Sandy Chung, residents of one of the blocks, witnessed sparks flying as they fled on Wednesday afternoon.
Despite reaching safety, they remained anxious about their property.
“I couldn’t sleep the entire night,” Winter Chung, 75, revealed to The Associated Press on Thursday.
Three individuals – company directors and an engineering adviser from a construction firm – were detained on suspicion of manslaughter.
Officers have not publicly identified the firm employing them. “We have reason to believe that those in charge of the construction company were grossly negligent,” said Eileen Chung, a senior superintendent of police.
Officers on Thursday also raided the headquarters of Prestige Construction & Engineering Company, which the AP confirmed was overseeing refurbishments in the tower block.
Police carted away boxes of paperwork as evidence, according to local media reports, with calls to Prestige going unanswered.
Officials suspected certain materials used on the building’s outer walls failed to meet fire safety standards, enabling the blaze to spread with alarming speed.
The residential estate comprised eight towers housing nearly 2,000 flats for roughly 4,800 inhabitants, many of them elderly residents.
Constructed during the 1980s, the complex had been undergoing extensive refurbishment work.
Hong Kong’s corruption watchdog announced on Thursday it was launching an investigation into potential graft linked to the renovation scheme.
Authorities revealed the inferno began on external scaffolding of a 32-storey building, then raced along the bamboo framework and construction mesh into the structure before jumping to neighbouring blocks, likely fuelled by blustery weather.
Bamboo scaffolding remains a familiar feature across Hong Kong’s building sites and renovation works, though Lee indicated officials would meet industry bosses to explore switching to metal alternatives following safety worries. “While we know that bamboo scaffolding has a long history in Hong Kong, its flame retardancy is inferior to that of metal scaffolding. For safety reasons, the government believes that a complete switch to metal scaffolding should be implemented in suitable working environments,” stated Eric Chan, the Chief Secretary for Administration.
The authorities will also conduct immediate checks on all housing estates undergoing significant refurbishment to ensure scaffolding and construction materials are up to safety standards.
This fire was the most devastating in Hong Kong in decades. Back in November 1996, a blaze in a commercial building in Kowloon claimed 41 lives and raged on for approximately 20 hours.
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