At least 128 dead and dozens missing in Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades

The death toll from Hong Kong’s worst fire in decades rose to 128 on Friday, with dozens missing as authorities said fire alarms in residential buildings were not working properly.

Families searched hospitals and victim identification stations hoping to find their loved ones, with around 200 people still missing and 89 bodies still unaccounted for.

Flames quickly tore through the Wang Fuk Court housing complex in the Tai Po district on Wednesday afternoon, engulfing seven of eight apartment buildings and turning the densely populated complex into an inferno.

The fire was “largely extinguished” on Friday morning after burning for more than 40 hours, fire services said, announcing that they had completed searching more than 1,800 apartments for survivors.

Authorities are investigating what started the fire, including examining scaffolding and bamboo netting wrapped around the compound as part of a major renovation.

Hong Kong’s government said on Friday that the fire appeared to have started in protective netting on the lower floors of one of the towers and that foam and bamboo scaffolding had helped spread.

Fire chief Andy Yeung said earlier that they discovered the alarm systems in all eight blocks were “malfunctioning”.

“We will take enforcement action against the responsible contractors,” Yeung told a news conference.

Residents had recounted having to run from door to door to alert neighbors of the danger.

In the charred apartment buildings on Friday morning, workers removed bodies in black bags, with a AFP reporter counts four in 15 minutes.

Vehicles unloaded bodies at a mortuary in nearby Sha Tin, another reporter saw, with families arriving in the afternoon for identification.

At a hospital in Sha Tin, a woman surnamed Wong searched for her sister-in-law and her sister-in-law’s twin, with no luck.

“We still can’t find them. So we’re going to different hospitals to ask if they have good news,” the 38-year-old said AFP in tears.

“We were already waiting at the Prince of Wales Hospital on the first day, but there was no news. We also came here yesterday.”

The last contact anyone had with the twins was Wednesday afternoon, Wong said, around the time the fire was reported.

“A building was engulfed in flames and spread to two more blocks in less than 15 minutes,” said a 77-year-old eyewitness surnamed Mui. AFP.

“It was too fast. Burning red, I shudder to think about it.”

Investigations have begun

The fire was the deadliest in Hong Kong since 1948, when an explosion followed by a fire killed at least 135 people.

Deadly blazes were once a regular scourge in densely populated Hong Kong, especially in poorer neighborhoods, but improved safety measures have made them far less common.

City safety chief Chris Tang said the investigation into the cause of the fire could take up to three to four weeks.

Hong Kong’s anti-corruption body said Thursday it had launched an investigation into renovation work at the complex, hours after police said they had arrested three men on suspicion of negligently leaving foam packaging at the scene of the fire.

said the Ministry of Labor AFP on Friday that it had carried out 16 inspections of maintenance work at Wang Fuk Court since July 2024, the most recent on November 20, after which the department issued written warnings to remind the contractor to “implement appropriate fire prevention measures”.

Hong Kong authorities will immediately inspect all housing estates undergoing major post-disaster works and consider shifting construction sites to metal scaffolding in the long term.

Community effort

The Hong Kong government announced a HK$300 million ($38.5 million) fund to help victims of the fire.

City officials said they had opened nine shelters and were organizing temporary accommodation and emergency funds for those who lost their homes.

Activities surrounding Hong Kong’s parliamentary election on December 7 have been suspended.

A spontaneous community effort to help firefighters and evacuees had become a well-oiled machine by Friday.

Separate supply stations for clothing, food and household goods were set up in a public square near the towers, as well as wards for medical and psychological care.

So many were given that organizers took to social media to say they don’t need more.